Grim Tales: Empire of Death
by Aros001
Summary: At the end of the Him vs. Grim war, Grim Jr has slain Queen Mandy and taken up the reigns of the kingdom to become as he was always meant to be: Death. Now it is up to him and the other leaders to rebuild the Underworld. But as more and more situations play into his hands, Junior must come to terms with how much of his mother's son is truly is. Sequel to Grim Tales: End of Reign.
1. The council

**Grim Tales: Empire of Death**

 **I own no rights to** **The Grim adventures of Billy and Mandy** **, nor am I affiliated with** **Grim Tales** **by Bleedman.**

 **This is a sequel to a previous fanfiction I wrote called** **Grim Tales: End of Reign** **.**

 **Part 1: The Council**

"I have not been looking forward to this." The tall hooded skeleton said to the giant spider as they exited out of the portal.

"I know, but this is important. We'll need everyone's help if we want to rebuild." The spider said.

"It's just with all the crap my mother pulled I can't help but imagine what they're going to demand from us."

If it wasn't clear, the tall skeleton is Grim Jr, or just Junior for short, of the family Grim and the giant spider is his servant Jeff…the spider (Billy never exactly was keen on giving him the family name).

Jeff hadn't always looked the way he does now, as anyone who works up the nerve to get close enough would notice. There are many parts of the spider's body, most notability at his neck, where his parts are stitched together. He's a ragdoll now, a body made to hold his spirit so that he may interact with the living. Junior had found his soul wondering around after the war and given how badly Jeff wanted to make up for the misdeeds he had done (which was a total of one misdeed in a lifetime of being literally the nicest guy in existence) Junior decided to make Jeff his servant. Given their mutual friend and Jeff's kind nature, Junior felt he'd be one of the few people he could trust now.

And boy did he need someone to trust.

At the age of 21 Junior has taken on the title of the Grim Reaper, the embodiment of Death, just like his father before him. And it was not going well.

It wasn't the job itself that bothered him, at least not as much as he thought it would growing up. Where his father had been a "Grim" Reaper, Junior was more of an apathetic one. After the horrors of the war he just survived he recognized that there were fates far worse than dying and often told the souls he reaped to suck it up. Though the job was dark and the hours unforgiving, it wasn't so bad.

No, the problems the newest Reaper faced were those created by striking down the most powerful dictator the Underworld had ever known. While Death had always been worshipped, striking down the woman many felt to be the Devil elevated Junior to an almost godlike status in the eyes of some. But the reverse was true as well, as Mandy had developed quite the following in her conquests and was being worshipped as a God long before Junior came around, thus making him the Devil in their eyes. For every day since he'd become Death Junior received death threats and curses and on several occasions the Church of Mandy attempted to ambush him on the job or suicide bomb Castle Grimskul (which wasn't the brightest idea given that Death can see suicide coming a mile away).

And when not dealing with the religious extremists Junior had the rest of the Underworld to deal with. Many feared that he might be even worse than his mother and those who didn't avoid mentioning his name out of fear called for his removal from the head of Death's domain, wanting the rip the evil line out by the roots. Junior was almost certain that the Council of the Underworld was telling him to resign when he got their letter, until Jeff clarified to him that the letter was inviting him to the council, which is where they were heading now.

"The last time the Council officially met was when they were trying to get my mother and Him to patch things up, wasn't it?" Junior said.

"I think so." Jeff thought back. "The main purpose of the Council is to try to keep all the layers of the Underworld peaceful."

"I think we can assume it didn't quite work."

Jeff shook his head and didn't say much as the two made their way down the halls of the old ruins. After a bit of time they finally came across someone else, whom Junior recognized instantly by his trademark spikey hair.

"Atem!"

The former pharaoh turned and was likewise delighted to see them. "Junior. I had guessed that you'd be coming to this."

"Ahh, Atem, you have no idea how glad I am to see a friendly face here." Junior said, shaking his hand. "But I thought the Council was only for representatives of the Big Five realms."

"Normally yes, but in these…hectic times…the council for now is reaching out to gain the most stability. Especially with what happened to the Land of Tainted Souls."

Atem was once a great Pharaoh in Egypt over 3000 years ago. Through a series of complicated events he was reborn (sort of) into the modern world until his host was able to put his spirit at rest and allow him to move on to the afterlife. After his many trials he was given the position of high priest in Anubis' court, making him second in power only to Anubis himself. The Courts of Anubis had always had a very good standing with the house of Death and thus Junior had met Atem quite a few times during his childhood when he had to speak to Grim on Anubis' behalf. Often while waiting Atem would teach Junior how to play new games (Junior always lost but Atem made them fun at least).

"So how come you're here instead of your boss?" Junior asked.

Atem looked down, hiding his face. "During the war, as I'm sure you've heard, Mandy took a rather large swing at the many Pantheons of the realms. The heads of each, Zeus, Odin, Amaterasu, and Ra, as well as their closest children, were the first she targeted."

Junior remembered the first time he'd ever entered his mother's vault. While there had been many items of interest within the one he remembered now was Thor's hammer, whose name he could never pronounce. It was notable to him not only because his mother was somehow able to get the powerful weapon from Thor, but also the fact that it stayed there meant that Odin could not force her to give it back to Asgard. After that Junior had little doubt that Mandy would pick a fight with even more Gods. And win.

"Osiris fell trying to protect his father." Atem continued. "And Anubis is still recovering along with Horus. For now, they have me temporally in charge."

"You just can't stop being king of things, can you?"

"Unfortunately."

Both laughed with each other and Jeff was happy to see his new master relax a little.

"By the way, I don't believe I ever got to thank you for-" Junior started to say before he suddenly stopped talking and sighed. "Atem, if you'll excuse me, someone's about to try and take my head."

"Pardon?"

Junior shifted his head back just in time to dodge the battle-axe that was suddenly thrown into the wall. Atem and Jeff jumped back from it startled while Junior was unfazed.

"YOU GOT A LOT OF DAMN NERVE SHOWING YOUR FACE HERE!" A female voice yelled.

"Hi, Chi." Junior said, clearly not surprised to see her.

The pitch-black woman in the bright pink kimono walked angrily down the hall to the Reaper. "Don't you "Hi, Chi" me, you bastard! I told you want I'd do to you if I ever saw you again!"

Atem tried to get between them. "Lady Chi, please! Calm yourself! What's the matter?"

Chi just pushed the former pharaoh out of her way. "This bastard took the love of my life away from me! Mimi's dead now because of you!"

Jeff tried to step in. "Chi, please wait! You don't know what happened!"

She glared at the spider. "I don't need to hear a thing from you, you eight-legged traitor! How dare you go and work for the guy who got my beloved Mimi killed!"

"But Lady Chi-!"

"Jeff, that's enough." Junior interrupted. "We don't need to explain ourselves to her."

"But Junior-"

"No, Jeff."

The spider followed his orders and went quiet.

Junior turned his attention to Chi, whose shapeshifting abilities created the sword she brought up to his neck, to which Junior responded by bringing the curved edge of his scythe up to her's.

"Go ahead. Try it." He dared her. She wasn't intimidated and stared right back into Junior's gifted eyes with all of her hate. Atem and Jeff sweat as the pressure emitting from the two Underworld lords filled the room and crashed against them. Both feared who was going to make the first move when suddenly a deep male voice came from out of nowhere.

"Fighting in the council's sacred ruins? Why, that's against the rules."

From out of the wall appeared a very white man in a just as white striped suit, with his black gloves, boots, and trademark hat serving as the perfect contrast.

"Stay out of this, Walker." Chi said to the ghost warden.

Walker walked right up to the two, hands behind his back to add more drama to his presence. "The council has always strictly prohibited infighting between members. We're not going to have a problem here, are we?"

Without taking his eyes away from Chi's, Junior said "No. No problem. Not as long as she doesn't have another tantrum." And lowered his weapon.

"Coward." She called him.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, brat."

"Good enough." Walker settled.

Walker is the self-titled warden of the Ghost Zone. He came in to establish order to the chaotic realm after Pariah Dark, the former king of all ghosts, was locked away (twice). He's a stickler for rules, though mainly just the ones he makes up or that support what he wants. He actually had the Ghost Zone ally themselves with Mandy during her war and because of this choice he's one of the only two surviving members of the original Big Five.

Before Walker could walk away Chi pointed her finger right between his eyes. "The next time you interfere in my business I'll make you eat that hat with whatever remains of your jaw when I'm done with you."

"Are you threatening me?"

"Just giving you a fair warning."

Walker was not amused. "I'm willing to cut Junior here some slack because Death has always been good at following the rules I've set out for the Ghost Zone, but you, little missy, aren't exactly earning any favors from me. I never liked your father or that cesspool of a city he built. If I had my way, I'd have kicked the both of you out a long time ago and started that place over from scratch. Make it more…orderly."

"Well my father's city is mine, not yours, and I don't need your opinion about how to run it." Chi told him.

"You'd be surprised how much better of a leader I prove to be than you."

"You think you can take it from me, tough guy? You're welcome to try."

"I'll keep that in mind." Walker said threateningly.

Another voice from down the hall was heard. "Now, now, Walker, you just broke up one fight. No need to start another."

All turned to see the light-blue man in a dark business suit who walked toward them. It was the other surviving member, Hunson Abadeer, ruler of the Nightosphere.

"Abadeer." Walker said with some distain.

"Oh, come on, Walker, I know you don't like my realm that much either, but you have to admit it's a rather orderly chaos."

Walker just glared at him for a minute before straightening his collar, hmph-ing, and walking away.

Hunson turned to Chi and Junior. "Don't mind Walker. He's never been all that friendly with the group. I think he just hates not being the one in charge of everything. In fact the only person I recall him ever getting along with was your mother, Junior."

"Gee, I wonder why?" Junior asked sarcastically.

Hunson checked his watch. "Oh my, look at the time! The meeting's going to start soon. How about we all walk there together?"

Chi, not being the most pleasant person to hang around with, declined the offer by storming off without a word.

"What's up with her?" Hunson asked.

"I took someone she loved away from her." Junior said.

"Oh yes, that old story. Don't worry too much about it, Junior. In jobs like ours you'll find it happens all the time. Stops bothering you after a while. Jeff, good to see you found work again after what happened. Have you lost weight?"

"Haha! Good one, mister Abadeer!" Jeff said, remembering him from his time as Him's servant.

Hunson Abadeer was rather…unique…among the rulers of the Big Five. He was evil, no question, but if you were to meet him in person (outside his realm at least) he'd seem like a fairly cool guy, at least until he'd eat your soul. Ok…maybe not "cool" per say, given how old fashioned he is, but he is the kind of guy you wouldn't mind talking to (again, at least he'd eat your soul). Normally this kind of trait would just be how any other demon would get close to you, but Hunson is…unique…and his traits seem rather genuine. If he wants to steal your soul, he'll just come out and say "I'm stealing your soul!" and if he just wants to hang out, then he just wants to hang out (though he might later decide he wants your soul). And he's probably the only one among the original Big Five who doesn't want to amass a bunch of power for himself but instead just wants his daughter to take over the family business when he's gone, which is actually kind of sweet. It was because of his satisfaction with the realm that he owns and because he rarely left it that he survived the war, mainly because no one, not even Mandy, had any real reason to go after him.

There are only two real rules when it comes to Hunson Abadeer: don't eat bananas in his presence and if you enter his realm, you are never leaving.

The four walked on until they came to a doorway blocked by two stone golems. Waiting around the door were the red ninja guards of Aku city and Walker's green police goons.

"Servants and guards are not permitted passed this point." The two golems said in unison.

Jeff remembered this from past meetings and understood. "Good luck, Junior!" He called as he stayed behind when the leaders entered through the doorway.

…

The doorway was a portal that transported them to a large circular room with a bonfire in the center. Great chairs were set out on the floor in a perfect circle, with the other leaders having already taken their seats. As Junior sat he took note of who was there.

Starting from his left Atem, the representative of the Egyptian Pantheon sat down.

Then was Walker, representative of the Ghost Zone.

Then was Sally, the guardian squirrel of the gates of Hell and representative of (what do you think?).

Then was the Tooth Fairy, the widow of the late Jorgen Von Strangle and the representative of Fairy World (who Junior could have sworn his father told him was a cowboy and not an actual fairy, but whatever…).

Then there was Chi, successor to the late Aku and representative of the City of Aku, currently staring daggers at him.

Next to her was the weird blue squid thing known as Lord Helix, God of anarchy, though in his case anarchy represents freedom and having everyone, not just the majority, have their opinions matter, no matter the consequences. Beyond that nobody's quite sure what he actually does.

The fat, grey blob next to Helix in the eye-scarring pink and green outfit is known as the Demon God Dumplin. Not much is really known about him other than that he hails from another universe where he may or may not have eaten everyone.

" _How does someone become a Demon God?" Junior once asked his father in his youth._

" _By killing the previous Demon God."_

 _His mother called it efficient._

Due to his power and sadism (and weird sexual tastes) Dumplin was considered a possibility to replace Him as ruler of the Land of Tainted Souls if something ever happened to him. A job he will unfortunately not be able to take anymore.

Sitting next to the Demon God was Heaven's representative, Doug, who even among dogs had such a kind and loyal soul. He and Sally were seated at opposite ends of the room so they wouldn't kill each other.

Then was Ma-Ti, a hero who had been fairly unremarkable on Earth but through a journey of self-discovery ended up in the land of Carealot, where his power of heart was strengthened to the point where he became the most powerful being in the realm. The Care Bears named him their champion and he was chosen to represent them (popular rumor is that Mandy didn't take her war to Carealot because the place was so sweet and innocent it made her vomit something terrible).

There was an empty chair next to him. Junior couldn't help but wonder who that was for.

And finally sitting right next to Junior was Hunson Abadeer.

Standing in the center of the room next to the bonfire was the stenographer and coordinator of the meeting…Kermit the Frog?

"Dare I ask what the hell?" Junior said to him.

"The coordinators of these meetings always have to be from neutral grounds and since I have no real ties to any of the realms, they thought I would be the best choice."

"That sounds fair, yet random."

"I said the same thing when they made me do this."

As everyone settled in Kermit address the room. "Alright, the meeting is about to start we're just waiting on-"

"SURPRISE!" Yelled the massive red flaming eyeball that appeared behind him.

Kermit screamed loudly and flailed his arms wildly above his head (which is his reaction to most things honestly).

The eyeball then transformed into a bright yellow triangle with a single eye and a tophat. "Oh man! Sorry to keep you waiting everybody, but I really love doing that to these things. Well, that and I like to keep people waiting. Hunson, what's up?!"

"Bill, glad you could make it. I saved you a seat."

"My man!"

Bill Cipher, an insane, near omnipotent dream demon and representative of the mindscape. Well known for doing whatever he wants for reasons that are never really clear to anyone but him (sometimes not even that) and it scared people to no end knowing that he and Hunson were somehow good friends.

Once Bill took his seat (or at least hovered over it) and Kermit's heart stopped pounding in his throat, the frog address the room.

"Now that we're all here, let us begin."


	2. The meeting

**Part 2: The meeting**

"Alright, let's begin with status updates." Kermit read off his clipboard.

The Tooth Fairy started off. "Repairs to the big wand are going well but for now we're still without power."

"A lot of the residence of the Ghost Zone fled out to other realms during the war." Walker said. "We've rounded a good amount of them up already, but there are quite a few still missing."

"I think some of them may have ended up in the Nightosphere." Hunson said.

"You keeping them under lock and key?"

"Always do."

Kermit nodded. "Alright, Sally, how's Hell doing?"

"We're freezing our nuts off!"

"We'll send you more lava."

"Damn right you will." The squirrel clicked angrily. During the war when the forces of Hell tried to fight her, Mandy had used the ice cream based technology from the remains of the Kids Next Door to literally freeze Hell over (which was as close to a joke as Junior had ever known his mother to get).

"Alright, Chi…uh…is your father's head still…uh…"

"Yes…it is. We can't get it down, which I'm sure Mandy knew when she put it up there." Chi said, her face neutral but her eyebrows blazing furiously.

"Right…" Kermit said, eager to move on. "Bill, how are things in the mindscape?"

"Oh, it's hilarious! There's trauma everywhere!" Bill said gleefully. "People are going to be in therapy for years after this war."

"…Noted. Doug, how's Heaven?"

"The gates are back up and new people can come in, and that makes me happy. But a lot of the angels are still missing their wings, and that makes me sad-SQUIRREL!"

"Bring it on, puppy chow!" Sally squeaked.

"Now is not the time for that!" Lord Helix said.

"Fight! Fight! Fight!" Bill chanted.

"Bill, I swear to God…!" Kermit warned.

Hunson laughed a little bit and turned to Junior. "You know, this actually does remind me of our old meetings. Except it was usually Him who'd be the instigator."

The room was silent for a minute at the mention of Him's name. Kermit then sighed and said "Alright…I suppose we should address the elephant in the room."

"The Land of Tainted Souls." Atem said. Kermit shook his head.

The bonfire's flames took the shape of Him's domain as Kermit filled in any gaps in the council's information. "As many of us have experienced, the Him vs. Grim war resulted in tremendous damage throughout the realms. But during the war, for the first time in known history, an entire realm was wiped from existence by the actions of a non-divine being."

The flames formed the image of a large black and green cylindrical device, with glowing tubes running around it into a center light. "The ectoplasmatic bomb or E-Bomb for short."

"Which the bitch queen was only able to build thanks to the Ghost Zone's rather generous alliance/surrender to her reign." Chi pointed out.

Walker's anger grew slightly but he did his best not to show it. "You think we would have been so willing to join her if we'd known she was planning to build something like that?"

"We've all had to make tough decisions in wartime, Walker. No one's accusing you of anything." The Tooth Fairy tried to calm him.

"Yes I am." Chi said.

It took all of Walker's restraint not to jump up and smack her. "Look, the Ghost Zone was the first outside realm to join her, under my orders, I'll admit to that. Her iron grip over her realm and the penalties she laid out for anyone who defied her rules were things I genuinely respected. I was proud to be on her side until she dropped that first bomb. Tell me…how many of you know what this thing actually does?"

No one responded. Some had not questioned the weapon while others knew all too well what it was. So Walker continued talking.

"Well I'll tell ya. Ectoplasm is what gives souls form as ghosts. It clings to us and becomes our very nature. And she found a way to use it to attack souls directly. The E-Bomb, as you call it, was designed for the sole purpose of inflicting harm to souls and spiritual energy. That's what the Ghost Zone and nearly every other afterlife realm is filled with. That ghost from the future, Dan Phantom, was the first test to see if it could destroy souls and the Land of Tainted Souls was its first target. She made a weapon with the sole purpose of obliterating any of the other realms she couldn't just conquer. There's no other way of looking at it. We're just lucky that she only ever had the opportunity to use it exclusively on Him's forces and not the rest of us."

"Which…I suppose…bring us to the next elephant in the room…" Kermit said.

" _Here we go…"_ Junior thought to himself.

"Junior…"

" _Nailed it."_

"In light of recent events, with you taking back control over Mandy's kingdom-"

"No, I don't know where the remaining bombs are or what she did with the scientists she had build them for her. If I had I would have turned them over to you guys a while ago."

"And why exactly should we believe that?" Chi accused him.

"Because I've seen firsthand what this thing can do and I don't want it to ever happen again." Junior shot back.

"We don't mean to assume anything, Lord Death." Lord Helix said. "It's just with the empire Mandy built and that level of destructive power, we just don't want to take any-"

"My sister and I were in the Land of Tainted Souls when our mother dropped the bomb." Junior interrupted angrily. "Hell, she might have been waiting for us to go there before she dropped so she could get three birds in one stone. My sister is gone now because of this thing. I will never see her again because of what our mother did, so don't act like I'm in a hurry to repeat her sins. I've been more than cooperative to you all. I've given most of you control back over the realms my mother took from you and have even made offers to help rebuild them, which most of you have refused, which was your choice, not mine. So don't sit there in judgement of me just because I had the balls to do what none of you could!"

The room went silent again until Dumplin broke the tension. "It's a shame. I was really looking forward to that river of lava and skulls."

"I think that's all anyone ever truly wants." Sally said.

Atem coughed and spoke up. "Well, if nothing else, this past war has taught us that we need to stand together more. Him vs. Grim started out as a private war until Mandy took it to the other realms and no one aided each other until it was too late to stop her because we didn't want to get involved. If we'd all stood together when Mandy launched her first unprovoked attacks, then we might have been able to take her down before her power grew to be too great."

"What are you suggesting?" Hunson asked. "Something like that one group on Earth? What was it called?"

"The United Nations." Ma-Ti informed him.

"Ah yes, what ever happened to that?"

"Him and Mimi blew it up after taking out Megaville." Junior said.

"Oh…"

Ma-Ti coughed a little. "Yes…well…I mean, we are kind of like the UN right now. Just a bunch of different realms working together. It wouldn't seem like backing each other up when we're thrown into an unprovoked war would be that much of a stretch."

"So what are you suggesting? That we all gather together in case one of us goes rogue?" Walker asked.

"That would be the best way to prevent a full scale war from breaking out again." The Tooth Fairy commented.

"Define unprovoked." Walker questioned. "Because what can be seen as nothing to someone can mean a lot to someone else."

"We'll have to set up some rules and guidelines." Atem said.

Unknown to Chi and Junior, they both had the exact same thought at that moment. _"Bored…"_

"How much control over each other's realms will this "UN" idea cause?" Chi asked, turning the conversation to a topic she actually cared about.

"None." Lord Helix said. "The realms have always functioned best when they decide for themselves what their best course of action is. It is only when we go starting wars with each other-"

"Or kidnapping each other's children." Junior added.

"Right…-that trouble starts. I can certainly lend my support for this idea."

"I assume this means that we'll be respecting each other's border choices." Hunson said. "Since war's end I've had a lot of people from different realms trying to break into the Nightosphere because I won't release their loved ones."

"Keep in mind that Him tricked people into your realm several times during the war for the exact reason of you don't let anyone leave." Junior said.

"I suppose we can hold hearings about anyone being tricked into someone's realm to see if they should be released or if it's their own fault that they're there." Ma-Ti said. "Would that be fair to you, Mister Abadeer?"

"Yes, I suppose. After all, the Nightosphere doesn't exactly look like any other realm in existence. Most people are going to know what it is as soon as they see it."

"Alright then. I imagine that a lot of problems will be avoided so long as we stay out of each other's realms without that ruler's permission and leave each other alone."

"Unless it's for official business." The Tooth Fairy said

"Or a convict round-up." Walker added.

Kermit, feeling the meeting had gone better than expected (considering no one decapitated anyone like he thought they would), said "Alright, all in favor of uniting forces in times of crisis and for respecting each other's realm borders say aye."

Atem was the first to start. "Aye."

"Aye."

"Aye (squeak)."

"Aye."

"…Fine, aye."

"Aye."

"Aye."

"Ruff!"

"Heart!"

"Ma-Ti…" Kermit warned.

"…Aye…"

"Yeah, sure, whatever."

"Aye."

"Aye."

"Alright, meeting adjourned! Yay!"

…

Junior and some of the other members exited the doorway portal.

"Junior, you're back!" Jeff said happily.

Junior took around the room at the other servants. "Jeff…those guys weren't wearing sweaters when I went in." He said, looking directly at Walker's officers in pale white turtlenecks.

"Well, it's kind of cold in here and I felt bad that they just had to stand there for so long, so I used by silk to make them sweaters."

"Jeff, they're ghosts and shadow ninjas. I'm fairly certain they can't feel temperature."

"Oh…do you think they'll like them anyway?"

Junior could see one of the Aku soldiers rubbing his face against the sweater Jeff made for him. "It's so soft!"

Another soldier smacked him upside the head. "Hide it, you fool! If Lady Chi sees it she'll make us get rid of them!"

Speaking of whom, the Shoguness of Darkness was the next person to exit the portal. She said nothing as she walked passed Junior, though each gave the other a strong glare in passing. She made her way to her guards and told them she was ready to leave ("Paul, you're burning that sweater when we get home." "AWWWWWWWW!").

Jeff was upset that Junior and Chi still weren't getting along, but decided not to bring it up.

"So how'd it go?" He asked hopefully. "Did you all manage to work out some kind of peace treaty?"

Junior watched as Chi and her servants left before he noticed Walker was doing the same.

"Actually Jeff, I get the feeling things are about to get a bit hectic again."

 **I apologize if these first two chapters have been kind of slow, as they're mostly build up. But the ball should get rolling with no problem now.**

 **Also, I know Grim Tales makes a clear difference between Spirits/souls and ghosts and I'm not trying to confuse the two. The main idea behind the bomb is that Ectoplasm is what causes spirits to be manifested as ghosts, so since it is a substance that can affect souls to begin with, Mandy found a way to use to to actually harm souls. It is a slightly flawed idea, I know, but I'd like to think it makes a little bit of sense.**


	3. What about Mimi?

**Part 3: What about Mimi?**

 **Quick note: these "What about…?" chapters are all flashbacks meant to show what happened to some of the more significant characters in** **Grim Tales** **during or after Mandy's war.**

 _ **Soon after war's end:**_

 _Her mind wasn't completely together yet, but she still remembered well the city she walked through._

 _She'd seen the time when nearly every one of these fallen buildings had been thriving and she'd had a front row seat to when they were knocked down._

 _She stopped when she got to the pastry shop. Jeff used to take her here when he didn't have the ingredients to make something himself. She floated through the walls, disappointed, yet not surprised to find that whatever was left in the store was long eaten away by time and bugs._

 _She looked into a mirror behind the counter and saw only the rest of the shop, not herself. She waved her hand in front of the mirror, to see if maybe she'd at least see movement. But she only ended up startling herself again. It had been such a long time since she had hands that she kept forgetting they were there. Then again, they were only as much there as she was._

 _She floated out of the wall and landed on the ground, deciding to walk again._

 _She keep going until she found a hill, or a large mound anyway. She'd been avoiding this hill for weeks on instinct, as something deep down inside her told her not to go up it. She'd listened to her gut every time and went to other parts of the city, but she always ended up back here._

 _Today she finally decided to find out why she feared this spot. Travel to the top was quick as she floated right up. She saw nothing to be afraid off up there. Just more wreckage and a broken wheelchair._

 _…Her wheelchair, she remembered now._

 _She placed her hand on one of the armrests, lightly enough so it wouldn't go through. She'd always hated the thing. It was too bulky and she couldn't do much in it. At least Jeff would sometimes give her rides on his back to ease her boredom._

 _She continued to look around the area until her eyes locked onto a spot on the ground. It was no different for any other spot in the area physically. Time had eaten away at the place equally. But she remember clearly that spot._

 _That was the spot where she killed her mother._

 _The blood had long dried up, but to her it might as well still be sopping wet. Her mother, who could bench press a skyscraper, did not fight back against her when being killed. She tried to reach out to her again with words but would never lift a hand to harm her. It showed how foolish her mother had been. If she'd had any sense she would have drowned her as soon as she was born. But she chose instead to love her child and give her a good life and make her as happy as she possibly could. A kindness she paid for with her life._

 _She raised her hands to cover her eyes. She wasn't sure if she was crying. She wasn't sure if she could cry anymore. She just didn't want to look at her sin anymore._

 _And then her ears perked up as she heard the sound of footsteps coming towards her, as well as that of a stick hitting the ground. A cane perhaps?_

 _She turned to see the tall hooded man coming over the hill, a long weapon in his hand with a curved blade._

 _"I hoped I might find you here." He said to the child._

 _She did not run, but did back up ever so slightly, which did not go unnoticed by the man._

 _"Mimi, I know I must look a little different than last time, but you do know me."_

 _The girl tilted her head inwards slightly to get a better look. His strange hair did look the same and though he'd only had one eye the last time, the pair he sported now were the same calming grey color she remembered._

 _"Though I suppose you've changed more than I have in the time we've been apart." He commented as he knelt down to be at eye level with her. He held out his hand to her, but she was reluctant to take it._

 _"You remember the promise I made to you, Mimi?" The tall man asked her. "I think it's time I followed through on it."_

 _He continued to hold out his arm to her and was patient, letting her take as long as she needed as she slowly and cautiously took steps towards him. She placed her hand into his._

 _And remembered her friend._

 _She ran into his arms and hugged him tightly. He was the one thing in the empty city she could hold onto. And he was the one thing that could hold her back._

…

 _"Are you sure you want to do this?" Atem asked the Reaper._

 _"You've already asked me that and I've already told you yes." Junior said. He and the high priest of Anubis' court were deep in the underneath of Egypt, next to the door of the afterlife. Standing by the Reaper's side was his newest servant, the spider Jeff, playing with the little spirit girl sitting in the Reaper's arm._

 _"It's just…reincarnation is an afterlife form far different than any other." Atem told him._

 _"I know. I studied up on it quite a bit for this."_

 _"Then you know that if you have her do this, she's not going to remember you in her next life. She won't remember you, her mother, her girlfriend, or anyone she's ever cared about. Very few things carry over from between lives. She'll be starting over with an almost completely black slate."_

 _"That's the idea, Atem."_

 _"But you found her. You finally found your lost friend. Wouldn't you and Jeff both be happier if she stayed with you?"_

 _The former pharaoh looked towards Jeff, who answered. "Of course I would love to be with Mimi again. I've missed her so much. But…"_

 _"Look at her." Junior finished for him. "She was seventeen when she died, yet her soul is stuck in the form of her ten year old self. Do you remember what happened to her when she was ten, Atem?"_

 _"Junior-"_

 _"Him happened. He attacked Megaville and destroyed her innocence, along with everything else he didn't need. I want her to have more than just the happiness her father took away from her. I want her to have a life, not just fear and monsters."_

 _Atem went silent and shook his head. "Very well. But I'll only do this if this is what she wants too. I won't let you decide for her."_

 _Junior understood and looked at Mimi, still sitting in his arm._

 _"What do you want to do, Mimi? Do you want to remain as you are or move on to something new?"_

 _Mimi responded with a series of pats to his face and a pinch to the cheekbone, which Junior perfectly understood from all his time travelling with her before her demise._

 _"I know forgetting about pain is the worst way to deal with it. That's why I'm going to make you a deal."_

 _Mimi cocked her head slightly to question him._

 _"I've got a long term as Death ahead of me." Junior explained. "So when you die again, I'm going to be there to collect you. And when that time comes, I'm going to tell you all about the life you lived before and the adventures we had together. I'll tell you all about your father and that mother of yours who repeatedly kicked the crap out of him. And then when I'm done, you'll tell me all about the life you just lived and how much fun you had in it. I don't want you to forget any of us, Mimi. I just want you to have something to balance out all the crap you've taken."_

 _The moment went on until Mimi made her choice. She hugged Junior. He knew exactly what she meant._

 _"I'll miss you too, old friend."_

 _Junior set her down and Atem took her by the hand as he opened the door. "Come now, little one. Let's see what we can find for you." He said kindly._

 _Mimi gave one last hug to her former nanny before she and Atem left. Jeff did nothing to hide that he was crying._

 _"Junior…thank you for doing this…" Jeff said between sniffles._

 _"…There's no need to thank me, Jeff." Junior said, not showing any sign of breaking. "You know how the Underworld is. Even with Mandy gone, shit is still going to go down and I just didn't want my best friend caught up in it again. Let her have a few years peace before she has to come back to this mess."_

 _They stayed there a little while longer, Junior letting Jeff have his minute, before he finally said "Let's go back to the castle, Jeff."_

 _Jeff nodded and followed him into the scythe portal, not noticing when the Reaper brushed a tear from his eye._


	4. The Deal

**Part 4: The Deal**

The City of Aku is no stranger to riots. Far from it. Acts of violence and madness were actively encouraged. The city was a place where inhabitants were allowed to indulge themselves in the guiltiest of pleasures. Anyone in the realm could get stoned, hammered, shot, blow through their entire life's savings, blow up a building, shoot someone, get beat up, and loiter creepily in front of a strip club, all within about five minutes of each other. Basically there were no real repercussions for your actions so long as you didn't upset the city's founder and master, Aku, mainly because he was known to smite those he didn't like. Other than that, go nuts.

However the riots that the city had once so thoroughly enjoyed took a rather unexpected turn recently. Windows were still destroyed and monuments still defaced and set ablaze, but instead of being random bars or homes, the targets of the riots were all the symbols of their newest ruler Chi, the daughter of Aku who had taken over for him after his brutal passing.

It was unclear what exactly set the first rioters off, as Chi had done nothing her father wouldn't have and changed nothing about the rules of the city. In fact the first few months of her reign went rather smoothly all things considered. But now they all called for her to be removed from her throne. She destroyed her protesters with ease, barely making note of them, figuring they were just cocky fools who wanted to see if they could do with her what her father never would have allowed.

But that was not the end of it and the next day even more people joined into the riots against her. And even more so the next day and the day after that. Eventually she had to stop smiting them and try to figure out why they'd suddenly turned on her. As weeks rolled on with her people pounding at her doors and her city on fire in the places that were never meant to be burned, the queen was running low on options.

"Have you discovered who the leader behind all these riots is yet?" The Shoguness asked her officers inside the castle's war room.

"No. my lady. All the captives in the torture chambers have proven surprisingly resistant and refuse to give anything up."

"What about finding any of the protester's bases?"

"Our sweeps of the city haven't turned up anything. As far as we can tell, all these riots have been spontaneous."

"They can't have been spontaneous! All the targets they've hit and all the pressure they've been putting on us is too damn orderly to be some kind of mob mentality!"

One of the Aku soldiers rushed into the room. "My lady, we've just caught more intruders breaking into the castle."

"Throw them into the bottomless pit with the rest of them."

"We, uh, can't do that, my lady."

"Why the hell not?"

"Because it's, uh, full…my lady."

Chi just stared at him in disbelief. "It's a bottomless pit!"

"Evidently not, my lady. It would seem your father was ripped off on that purchase."

"Great. Just great."

Another servant came up. "My lady, we've received more transmissions from the rioters."

"Let me guess, more people telling me to give up my throne?"

"Yes, my lady." He said as he read the transmission off his AkuPadTM. "…On the grounds that you are unfit for duty, unqualified for your position, and a raging…oh my. That's, uh…rather graphic."

"What?"

"Promise you won't shoot the messenger?" The servant gulped.

"Fine. What does it say?"

…Half a minute later…

"In all fairness…" One of the other servants said to the messenger. "You didn't say don't throw the messenger face first into the doorframe."

"The messenger shouldn't have to!" He said, stuck in the doorway as his queen stormed off, her guards following her to her chambers.

…

As soon as she entered she was attacked by a citizen attempting to assassinate her with a knife. Chi casually grabbed the man by the wrist and repeatedly smacked him against the wall until he stopped moving.

"What the hell is wrong with these people?" Chi asked her guards. "It's like they don't even care if they get killed or tortured."

"That's probably because they don't." A voice in the room said. The startled Chi quickly looked over to find Grim Jr leaning against the wall reading a copy of the Aku Times.

"YOU?!"

"I'll tell ya, Chi, I was very surprised to find out you had your own harem. Not many people do that these days." Junior said, eying their picture. "Interesting that you made them wear Santa jackets and claws though."

Chi grabbed the magazine from him and it burst into flames within her hand. "What the hell are you doing in my realm?!"

"A group of tourists kicked the bucket on 5th and Aku. Apparently they thought the "Bazooka Zone" sign was a joke."

"You know you're not welcome here!"

"Clearly." Junior said, noticing how high the flames of her eyebrows were getting in his presence.

Knowing that he was egging her on, Chi remembered the situation at hand and forced herself to calm down. "Look, I don't have time to deal with you. Just leave."

"Well, since you asked nicely." Junior said as he stretched, the guards prepared to escort him by force if ordered. "However, there is one thing I've found out about that you might want to know."

"What?" Chi asked, getting annoyed.

A green chain then burst forth from Junior's arm and impaled the body of the failed assassin on the floor. He yanked the chain and pulled out from the body, not the man's soul, but a green ghost in police riot armor.

Chi's eyes went wide. "That's…that's one of Walker's officers!"

Junior nodded as his chain vanished. The ghost panicked due to being found out and tried to get away. But Chi, in fury, expanded her mouth out wide and swallowed the officer whole.

"Walker…" She said when she was done, her flames now even higher than before. "So he's behind this."

"I could feel them as soon as I got here." Junior said. "From the look of things he's been having his minions overshadow your citizens for a couple weeks now, having them jump into another body if you do something to their current one. I hear he's used similar tactics in the past."

Chi paid little attention to the Reaper. "Send word about this to the council." She said to one of her guards. "We're going to nail Walker's ass to the wall for this."

"The council's not going to help you, Chi." Junior said before she sent the guard out.

"Isn't this exactly the reason we had that stupid meeting for? So that we could all stand together to prevent war and all that crap?"

"Yes, in the event of an unprovoked attack. But you know how much of a stickler Walker is for rules. He's only doing this because you gave him permission to."

"What are you on about?"

Junior almost smirked. "What was it you said to him? You think you can take it from me, you're welcome to try? That was all the authorization Walker needed to make this invasion of his legal."

"What is this, "The Phantom Menace"? What kind of political bullcrap is that?!" Chi yelled at him.

"I agree, which is why I'm here to offer my help."

Chi was slightly stunned by the Reaper's words and raised an eyebrow in skepticism. "Why would you help me?"

"I'm offering to help because I can sense souls and reap them from the bodies of your people without harming them. Plus the fear of Death is something that carries over for many people even when they've become a ghost. I can easily drive them out." Junior stated.

"I didn't ask how you would help, I asked why." Chi said.

"I have my reasons." Junior said, making it clear he wasn't going to say anymore on it.

Chi glared at him for a minute before shaking her head. "Sorry, but I'm not one who likes being in anyone's debt. Especially not yours. So thanks for the offer but now that I know who the real enemy is we can finally fight back. Walker wants a war with me, he's going to get one."

"You're not going to win this without me, Chi." Junior said.

Chi turned to him. "You may have some fancy Reaper powers that give you domain over souls, but the armies of Aku have held strong against far worse threats than some ectoplasmic Texas Ranger. His cover's blown. The moment my forces and I get ahold of him, he's done for."

"You mean these forces?" Junior asked as several of the soul chains erupted from his arm and impaled all of Chi's guards. Before she could even react he yanked out more of Walker's minions from within them.

Chi was struck speechless as Junior commented "This was your elite guard, wasn't it?"

The chains dispatched from Junior's arm and wrapped around the ghosts so they couldn't get away, while the guards rubbed their heads like they had a massive hangover. Chi was in shock. "They…they even overshadowed Paul…I kinda liked Paul…"

"Really, my lady?"

"Shut up, Paul!"

"Aww…"

Chi's hand subconsciously raised up to her mouth as Junior said aloud all the realizations that were dawning on her.

"If they could get into your elite guard, the people who are around you all the time with your greatest level of trust, without you ever noticing, imagine where else they could be?" He said into her ear. "Your cooks, your lieutenants, your sexy lesbian harem…anyone's a possibility and even when you find them they can just go overshadow someone else until you find them again. Without my help, it's you vs. your entire world."

He backed up to let Chi have a moment. She looked at the restrained ghosts flopping about on the floor and at her guards who were just now getting up. And even from here in her room she could hear to pounding of the rioters at the castle doors.

She sighed heavily. "Alright, Reaper, you win. I accept your help."

Junior smiled at her and gently placed his finger on her nose. "No."

He was fairly certain he almost saw a blood vessel pop in Chi's eye.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN NO?!" She roared at him as she grabbed him by the hood, tired of letting him toy with her.

"I mean that's not how the Underworld works and you know it." Junior said, making Chi let go of him. "If you want something you have to give something in return. You have to make a deal."

"Argh…fine. What do you want?"

Junior reached into his sleeve and pulled out a small box, opening it to reveal a small diamond ring inside. "Marry me."

The jaws of both servants of Aku and Walker hit the floor loudly while Chi's pale face turned bright pink.

She then began to slap him.

"What the hell kind of proposal is that?! No…why the hell are you proposing?! We kind of hate each other in case you hadn't noticed!"

"Actually, you hate me. I've been fairly passive towards you all things considered." Junior said, rubbing his cheekbone.

"There was only one person I was ever willing to marry and you took her away from me! Why the hell would I ever agree to marry you?!"

"Because you don't have a choice." Junior said as he hovered over her, the queen now noticing how much taller than her he was. "I'm not asking because I want you. I'm asking because I know you hate the idea and still can't say no to it. Because if you don't agree to my terms, then I won't help you. Maybe when you were younger you could have refused easily, seeing your pride as more important. But you're older and wiser now, and with that comes the knowledge that you need your realm to stay together and that you can't win a fight against your own people without me. It's as simple as that. I don't lose anything either way but you do, so what's it going to be?"

This was a situation she never could have imagined she'd be put in. She bit down on her fingers, racking her brain desperately to find some way out of this. After a few minutes passed, Junior finally said "Alright then. Have it your way." And turned to open a scythe portal.

Out of panic, Chi grabbed him by the back of his robe. "Wait!"

Junior stopped and cocked his head just slightly enough to glance behind him. "Yes…?"

Shadows covered Chi's eyes as she gazed down at the ground. Defeated.

"I do."

Junior turned to face her again. He lifted her hand up to his and slipped the ring onto her finger. The deal was made.

Chi glared at the ring that polluted her hand. "I will make your life hell for this." She cursed him.

"Of course you will." Junior said. "You are my wife, after all."

…

Walker gazed out at the city from within the dark of an alley. His binoculars giving his a clear view of the protest at the Statue of Aku off in the distance. A smile spread across his face as he heard the "boom" of the torch the statue held. Right on schedule.

He looked at his watch, counting down the seconds to the next attack. He wasn't usually one for using anarchy and mayhem to get his way, but as the old cliché goes, you gotta break a few eggs to make an omelet.

Doesn't hurt neither if the eggs are someone else's.

Walker raised the binoculars back up to his eyes as he hummed to himself about tearing down the foundation. He looked towards the castle, waiting until the protesters knocked down the doors. They wouldn't get much further beyond that, but that was fine. He just had to keep wearing her down until she finally fell apart. And with his men on the job, it shouldn't take more than just a few more days.

" _3…2…1!"_ And Walker saw the doors fall and the protestors enter inside.

What happened next he had not planned for, as he saw green lights spill from within.

"What the…?" He said to himself as he adjusted to get a closer view, only to find his vision blocked by the several ghosts bursting out from the castle in panic.

Startled by the sight Walker fumbled to get his radio. "Unit 3, what the hell do you think you're doing out in the open?!" He roared into it. "Get back under camo before somebody sees you!"

The radio screeched as one of his men struggled to answer. "Sir, we've been compromised!"

"What?!"

"It's the Grim Reaper, sir! He's after us! He's-aggghhhh! (static)"

"Unit 3! Unit 3, respond!" No answer.

Walker changed the frequency of his radio to attempt contact with his other units, but was interrupted by the shaking of the city beneath his intangible feet.

From the center of the city emerged a huge black shadow, far large than any of the buildings. Flames spat out from atop its head as its pale white face bore long teeth and the eyes of a demon. This was the form the Shoguness of Darkness bore as she intercepted the many ghosts attempting to flee across the skies. The ghost flew every way they could to avoid her, but the massive monster that was Chi spawned forth numerous tentacles and appendages to chase each individual whichever way they attempted, seizing them one by one, even the will-o-wisp nature of the spirits was not enough to slip through the grasp of such a being. She did not crush them or mutilate them as one would expect, but instead slowly let them sink into her body to let them suffer whatever horrors she could concoct within herself. Their screaming continued until they sank all the way in and was never heard again.

The Warden of the Ghost Zone found himself at a loss for what to do next. He'd of course made plans for what to do in case Chi discovered his plot, but not like this. Not with so little warning that she was on to them. Not with-

"Hello, Walker."

Walker turned to see the Reaper standing directly behind him, the scythe casually hanging over his shoulder.

"Junior…you…"

"You know, Walker, even if I couldn't sense souls, I probably could have still found you. The city is mostly black and red. You do sort of stick out considerably."

The gears in Walker's head turned as his mind took in everything that was happening. The end result was anger.

"Junior, do you have any idea what you just stepped in?!" He barked at him. "This little coup was between me and the woman! It was not of your concern! And if you think that the council is going to hesitate to take you down, especially after what your mother pulled-!"

"The council isn't going to do a thing, Walker, because all I'm doing is protecting what's mine." Junior interrupted.

"How do you figure?" Walker asked.

Junior pointed towards Chi. "Because the big gal there is my wife, cowboy, which makes the City of Aku part of Death's domain."

Walker looked on dumbfounded for a moment. "When…uh…"

"About five minutes ago."

"Oh…"

Junior had to hand it to the guy, Walker kept fairly collected for someone who just had everything blow up in his face.

"…Congratulations?"

"Thank you." Junior said disturbingly politely.

"…" Walker then bolted and tried to fly off, but a chain flew from the Reaper's hand and impaled him through the chest, bring him down to Earth.

"That reminds me, Walker…" Junior said as he stood over him. He then placed his fingers up to his mouth and whistled, catching the attention of his bride. Her massive eyes glared sharply at the pale ghost the moment she saw him.

"…Wedding present." Junior said as he threw the petrified body of the Warden to the monster.

Walker couldn't even scream.

And Chi made sure to take her time with him.

 **Special thanks to AkumaKami64 for his oneshot story** **King, Consort, Pet, and Servant** **for first getting the idea of Grim Jr and Chi as a couple into my head. My version about them will not be as sexy.**


	5. Manipulations

**Part 5: Manipulations**

"You need to find me a way out of this marriage!" Chi yelled at her advisor/attorney as they continued pouring over legal books in the library of Aku Castle.

It had taken a few days but Junior and Chi had managed to root out all of the ghosts Walker had inhabiting the inhabitants of the city, with most surrendering outright, knowing they didn't have a chance of fighting the Underworld leaders without their boss. The only reason the purge had even taken as long as it did was because not all the officers had gotten the memo about what Chi did to him.

And as soon as the last ghost was taken out, Chi turned to her advisor to help her. And after several hours, the advisor could still give only disappointing news.

"I'm sorry, my lady, but it's as I've told you, deals with Death are completely binding. No force on Earth or under it can overturn them."

"Not even a simple divorce court?" Chi asked desperately.

"No, my lady." The advisor said, trying to make her understand. "You may not realize this but deals made with rulers of the Big Five have incredible strength to them, especially when they involve the lords of sin or death. Him's deal was so strong that he was able to force your beloved's mother to bear his child and Death's deal is so strong that he himself was forced into servitude over a game bet until one of the children released him from it. And that's basically your situation too, my lady. Just as the former Reaper swore himself to Mandy, you have sworn yourself to her son, and thus the only person who can release you from your contract is him."

Chi thought on this for a moment. "So I just have to make him release me, is that it?" She asked.

The advisor scratched his head. "Well, I suppose technically…though it's rather risky…"

Chi got up from the book piled table. "I don't care about risk or what happens to me." She said. "I will not let that man wrestle control of my father's beloved city away from me."

As she turned to leave the advisor quickly said "Please…be very careful, my lady."

Chi looked back at the man and saw something she was not used to seeing, at least not directed at her: genuine concern.

Chi blinked. "You're actually scared for me."

"My lady, this man you have wed, he is very dangerous." The advisor said, quivering slightly. "He killed the most feared ruler the Underworld has ever known, the very one who killed your father. The very one who somehow found a way to kill Death yet couldn't kill him the same way."

"Yes, he's powerful, but my father always taught me that power wasn't enough to be a great ruler."

"My lady, you don't understand!" The advisor said. "What is the Reaper doing right now? He is choosing who will fill in for Walker as the new warden of the Ghost Zone, likely someone he'll have completely under his thumb. And the reason why he's the one choosing? It's because he knows that you need him to keep the Ghost Zone pinned down until Walker's war fully dies down. And should you somehow find a way to break off your marriage to him, he'll still have control over the Ghost Zone and possibly even find a way to use Walker's loophole to attack the city again. Essentially he's made it so that you have no choice but to let him do whatever he wants."

Chi grasped the edge of the table in anger. "He played us."

The advisor nodded his head. "I'm afraid so, my lady. He exploited Walker's grudge against your family perfectly and gained control of three of the four most powerful remaining realms of the Underworld. He did in a few months what it took his mother nearly ten years to accomplish."

"He already had control over those realms when he took over Mandy's empire. Why'd he give them up in the first place if he was just going to take them over again?" Chi pointed out.

"Because the way he's done it no one can make him give them up because technically he hasn't done anything wrong. He didn't conquer those realms, he just happens to be their new owner and co-owner.

"He's a master manipulator, my lady," He continued. "Possibly even better than his mother, and that's why I'm advising you to be very, VERY wary of him. Because anyone who can be better than the Bitch Queen, and thereby through extension be even worse than she was, is not someone you want to take lightly. The city has lost one ruler because of that family…we do not wish to lose another."

The advisor bowed his head to her and left the library, leaving Chi to ponder on what to do next.

…

 **Meanwhile, deep within the Ghost Zone, in the heart of Walker's prison, in a police interrogation room:**

"I'm glad you could meet me on such short notice." Junior said to the blue spirit that sat opposite from him.

"Well, when one of the Big Five rulers asks for an audience with you, it's hard to say no." The spirit said, adjusting his overall straps to fit better.

"Well then, Mr. uh…do you have a name other than "The Box Ghost"?"

"Not since I died."

"Fair enough. I assume you have some idea of why I've called you here?" Junior asked.

The Box Ghost scratched his head. "I…uh…heard about what happened to Walker…"

"Yes…"

"…And I was his right hand man during the war. I'm guessing that has something to do with this?"

"It has everything to do with this." Junior said as he stood up.

The Box Ghost fidgeted slightly. He knew he wasn't enough to take on the Grim Reaper and mentally started to say his goodbyes.

But then Junior placed his hand on his shoulder. "Box Ghost, relax, you're not in trouble. Far from it in fact."

"I'm…I'm not?" He asked as Junior removed his hand.

"You see, though the Ghost Zone belongs to my wife and I now, neither of us have the time to keep it under control 24/7 like Walker did. And with him gone, that means the Ghost Zone needs a new Warden. And I believe that you are the best choice."

"Me?"

"Why so surprised? Like you said, you were Walker's right hand man after he canned his last one for disloyalty, so you would know Walker's systems and methods better than anyone else. Not to mention that you became quite the war hero during those ten long years."

"Well, I mean, it's not that big a deal…" The Box Ghost said with a slight mix of embarrassment and shame.

"Oh, don't be modest, Box Ghost, I've heard the tales of what you've done. You became quite powerful and respected as a leader in Mandy's armies. She tends to have that effect on a lot of former wimps. You should have seen what my uncle Nergal was like before she whipped him into shape."

"Well…Junior…uh, Mr. Reaper…I'm not exactly proud of some of the things I had to do during your mother's war."

"No one's ever proud of what they do in a war, Box Ghost, but that doesn't mean that the accomplishments don't still exist." Junior pointed out. "You started at the very bottom and worked your way up until you were at the top, leading the Ghost Zone armies against the other realms. You seem like the perfect candidate to me."

The Box Ghost thought about it for a moment before giving his answer. "I'm sorry, Mr. Reaper, but I'm going to have to say no. I've had my wrathful moments in the past, but I'm trying to put my "Beware" days behind me. I'm sorry."

The spirit found himself unable to read the expression of the Reaper's face, causing his panic to slightly rise until Junior spoke again.

"Of course. I understand, Box Ghost. I can respect your wishes and find someone else."

The ghost breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you for understanding. It really means a lot."

"It's no trouble at all." Junior smiled at him. "The guards will be in shortly to escort you out. Security reasons, you understand."

"Yeah, don't worry. I remember it from the old days. Standard procedure."

Junior walked towards the door to leave, but before he turned the handle he said "By the way, Box Ghost, how's that daughter of yours doing?"

"Box Lunch? She's doing alright. She'll be four years old come next August."

"I imagine your wife tells her stories of some of your exploits during the war."

"Some of them."

"I can see why you wouldn't care much for the job. Warden or not, I imagine that she'll grow up to be quite proud of you, considering how far you've come."

"Well…I hope so, anyway." The Box Ghost said, wondering where he was going with this.

Junior still wasn't looking at him. "Well, I'm glad to hear that you and your family are doing well. I hope it stays that way."

"…What do you mean?"

"Well…I did tell you that you were the perfect candidate for the job. Now that you've rejected the offer, I'm going to have to find people less qualified to fill in. People who believe more in toughness than fairness. Maybe find someone who'd jump at the opportunity to inforce their will on an entire realm. That would be the quickest way to fill the position…"

The Box Ghost started to sweat a bit.

"I've heard about the number of times Walker had you locked up. I wonder who Box Lunch is going to spend her days running away from?" Junior puzzled. "Well…I'll let you know when I figure it out."

Junior turned the handle and opened the door.

"Mr. Reaper?"

"Hmm?"

"…I think I'd like to hear your job proposal one more time…"

Junior closed the door. "I'd be glad to."


	6. Dinner with Death

**Part 6: Dinner with Death**

Junior exited out into the hall after informing the new hire about his duties, finding Chi waiting against the wall for him.

"Hello, honey." He said to her.

"Shut up."

Junior chuckled to himself. "I'm honestly surprised to see you in this realm. Did you come to see if the new warden is to your liking?"

"I want to see my new castle." Chi stated.

Junior was confused. "New castle?"

"Castle Grimskull." She clarified. "Because of our marriage our realms are considered part of the same domain, which means I am an owner of the castle, does it not?"

"Of course."

"Then I wish to go there."

"Any particular reason?"

"Yes. My own."

Junior looked at her for a moment to read her and in the end said "Alright then, hop into the portal."

…

Jeff had been doing the dishes (which were not many considering Junior rarely ever ate) when he heard the sound of a scythe portal open. He went to the room where he heard it come from.

"Hey Junior. Welcome ba-" He started to say before he noticed who was with his master. "Lady Chi?!"

Junior started walking past him. "She's here to have a look at the house." He explained.

Jeff was quite happy. "Oh man, I'm so glad that you two patched things up!"

"We haven't." Junior stated flatly.

"Oh…" Jeff said, a bit disappointed. "Well, if you don't mind me asking, why is she here then?"

"We got married."

Even without facing him, Junior could almost hear the wheels spinning wildly in the very confused spider's mind as he tried to comprehend what he'd just been told. In the end he took the only option that would allow him to keep his sanity and just rolled with it.

"Well…welcome to the family, Lady Chi! Is there anything I can get for you?" He asked.

"Some insecticide."

"Leave the spider alone." Junior said, still walking in front of them. "Jeff, why don't you start on dinner while I show Chi to her room?"

"You got it, Junior!" Jeff said as he shot his web to the ceiling and swung away, eager to celebrate the new couple.

"He actually is a fairly good cook." Junior said as he led his wife down the halls. "Just don't ask where the meat comes from."

"You already had a room laid out for me?" Chi asked, getting directly to the point.

"You don't think I would have asked you to marry me if I hadn't made some preparations, do you?"

Chi eyed him for a moment. "…How long exactly before you showed up in my castle were you planning that, Grim?"

"Not nearly as long as you're probably assum-…Did you just call me Grim?"

"That's your name, isn't it?"

"My father's name was Grim. I was named Grim Jr after him."

"Look, I may not like the fact that I'm now stuck with you, but I refuse to call any husband of mine "Junior". It makes me sound like a pedophile."

Junior actually had to stop dead in his tracks at that very unexpected statement. "That's…one way of looking at it, I suppose."

The walk was slightly awkward until they finally reached Chi's designated room. Junior opened the door to reveal a very standard living quarters, complete with a bed, lamp, shelves, and a window.

Chi looked around it. "No cameras, no bars on the windows, no chains on the walls…I have to admit, I'm a little disappointed."

"What kind of freak do you think I am?" Junior asked her with some distain.

"…"

"…Shut up."

Chi felt the firmness of her bed. "So where do you sleep? Your mom's old room?"

"No, I blew that up my first day back."

Chi just kind of looked at him.

"I was angry." He defended.

Junior went on to explain. "I usually just fall asleep at my desk, so if I'm not on the job you can find me there. If you want anything, the servants will jump through hoops to please you, but they won't do anything or tell you anything that I don't want them to, for obvious reasons. Bathroom is the second door down the hall to the left and dinner is ready whenever Jeff says it is. Any questions?"

"So, like, the curtains matched her personality or something?"

"Bite me." He said calmly before leaving the room.

Chi checked the lock after she was sure he was gone. There was nothing unique or magical about it. She could pick it with ease if she ever needed to but the Reaper hadn't even locked it. It certainly seemed that he was trying to make her feel like she wasn't a prisoner in his fortress. But just because she wasn't a prisoner didn't mean she wasn't trapped. Her window looked out at a very open view of Death's domain, meaning there was no hiding from cameras or servants if she was to go out the window. And she could hear the guards patrolling right past her door, as the room itself was fairly close to the castle's gates, meaning that this part of the castle was heavily watched over. And there was little doubt that the servants would report to their master on every little thing they notice his bride doing.

The Reaper knew full well that she'd never come to his home willingly unless she wanted something and he was going to do his damnedest to not let her have it. She knew this and he no doubt knew that she knew. If she was going to win this game of theirs's, then she was simply going to have to think even further ahead than him.

Chi actually smiled slightly. She'd never been one for head games, save for an occasional game of Go with her mother. But this, she thought to herself, might actually be kind of fun.

…

Five $^ #ing hours later Chi finally heard the knock on her door.

"How the hell long does it take to make $^ #ing dinner for two people and a bug?!" Chi yelled as she opened the door.

"I would not know, mistress. We've never been allowed to eat." The skeletal guard said. "Also, spiders aren't bugs."

"Did you just correct your mistress?" She asked him.

"Uh…no?"

"Did you just lie to your mistress to her face?"

"…Yes?"

"I take it you know what you should do to yourself now?"

"Yes, mistress. Right away." The guard said with no hesitation as he split his skull open with his own axe and then bowed to her.

" _Well…I'll give the Grim family one credit…they raise their servants properly."_ Chi commented to herself as she allowed the now headless guard to lead her to the dining hall. The guard's current state did not go unnoticed by his master sitting at the head of the grand table.

"Do you do that to all your servants or are mine special?" Junior asked as Chi sat down at the other end.

"Be proud, yours are less whiny."

Junior would have said something but then Jeff entered the room bringing in the last of the covered food and Junior decided to drop it.

Jeff lit the center candles and uncovered the dishes the covered the entirety of the large table, revealing every delectable food one could imagine, from large cooked birds and grilled fish to corn on the cob and chocolate cake. It took incredible self-control for Chi not to start drooling and dive-bomb the table.

Jeff scratched his head modestly. "I remembered that you really liked big meals as a kid and I couldn't remember what specifically you liked so I tried everything I could think of."

Chi slightly blushed over the fact that the spider was just so unreasonably nice to her, but did her best not to show it. She then remembered how Mimi had always clung to Jeff when they were children and how protective she was of him.

"Thank you for your hard work…spider. It is appreciated"

Jeff smiled and gave a small bow. He then left to grab his own dinner (he preferred his food a little _fresher_ ), leaving the couple alone to their meal.

Chi was about to dig in when a thought hit her.

"How much of this stuff is poisoned?" She yelled out to the kitchen.

"All of it." Junior answered for him, taking a drink from his cup. "I find it brings out much more of the flavor."

Chi stared at her plate for a moment.

Then shrugged and started wolfing things down.

After letting her stuff her face for a few minutes, Junior said "So…you had quite the productive time in your room today."

"Yeah, I had a good five whole hours of nothing while you made me wait to eat. Could have at least given me a magazine."

Junior lifted up his hand to show what he meant, holding between his finger the tails of three squeaking pitch black mice with flaming eyebrows. Chi stopped eating. "Where were you even keeping those things?"

"I have big pockets." He said as he tossed the mice back to her, allowing her to reabsorb them into herself. "Cute trick, but you should know that with a castle this size we have to have some decent pest control."

"Can't blame a girl for trying."

"Sure I can. Especially when that girl puts fake bone versions of herself in my servants. They're still trying to get those out of their armor and put the originals back."

"You did say I could use the servants however I wanted." She justified.

Junior smiled slightly at her and pulled out a small black coin, causing Chi's eyes to widen by a fraction of an inch.

"I take it I wasn't supposed to find this one?" He commented as he flung it across the table for Chi to catch in her hand. Looking at the coin in her palm it opened its tiny eyes to see her. "I'll admit, hiding one of yourself on my person, before I even put you into your room, that's pretty ballsy. I don't think even your father would have been able to do that without me noticing right away."

Chi reabsorbed the coin back into herself, disappointed that it hadn't learned anything useful, while Junior continued talking. "And I imagine you have a few other bits of yourself scattered around the place that I haven't found yet."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Chi said calmly as she drank from her glass.

"Of course not. And it's because of how much you don't know that you're going to be really pissed about what I'm going to say next."

"Which is?"

"If you wanted to know what I was up to, all you had to do was ask."

Chi stopped drinking and became stunned by that statement. She would have asked why he was so forthcoming, but the answer to that was actually quite obvious: to mess with her. He would control whatever information he gave to her. He could tell her a complete lie or the whole truth and everything in between and no matter which it was would leave doubts and paranoia in her head. Accepting this offer would be a foolish decision.

And not accepting it would be even more foolish, as even the greatest of liars reveal more than they mean to when they talk. Chi remembered her father's tales of the famous samurai who opposed him long ago. They'd had battles such as this long ago, where her father had the samurai completely in his power and yet the samurai found a way to prevail. Now she was in the Reaper's power. Could she do the same as her father's respected rival?

"Go on." She said.

"I took over your realm and the Ghost Zone because I'm the bad guy."

"HA!" Chi accidentally burst out, the laugh echoing throughout the room. She was barely embarrassed. "Sorry, but that's a pretty ballsy claim considering the crowd you work with."

"I should probably clarify that everyone _thinks_ I'm the bad guy. Especially when word gets out about how I got the Box Ghost to join me."

"Who's everyone?"

"Everyone. From the heads of the realms to the subject beneath them, and that's the goal." Junior explained. "Tell me Chi, how much do you believe in the council's UN idea, where we all have each other's backs in a time of crisis."

"I honestly just don't care much about it."

"And how much do you think the other realms believe in it?" Junior asked her. "You'd think some of the lighter realms would be interested in helping each other, right? Except that this kind of thing has been tested before, both in the mortal world and here and it doesn't work that cleanly. Allies across history have promised to come to each other's aid in case of attack and what happens more often than anything when the going gets rough? People jump ship. The only people willing to be in war tend to be those who start them."

Chi raised an eyebrow and Junior continued. "The treaty is a sham. It's meant to be a deterrent to keep those involved from attacking each other's realms while they're still recovering. But the moment one of them breaks it you can bet that they'll all be looking for any and every way to get out of helping each other because they don't want to get involved. Add a little pressure and eventually the whole thing falls apart. Unless, of course, there exists a reason why all those realms have to stick together. Some threat that exists against them all that they know they can't survive against on their own."

That's when it all clicked in the Shoguness's head. "You're using everyone's fear of your mother's empire to keep them huddled together."

Junior smiled smugly. "No one did anything when my mother went to war with Him. They all figured that her wrath would be satisfied by taking him out and that would be the end of it. And even when she spread out to other targets, they all just breathed a sigh of relief and went "Well, at least it wasn't me" until she went for them too. Atem was right when he said that they all might have stood a chance if they'd worked together from the start, a lesson they'll remember if they think history might be about to repeat itself."

"You manipulated my realm and the Ghost Zone into joining you to make everyone think you were gearing up for war."

"That's right. They know that if I were to attack while they're all still weakened they'd need everyone to keep me at bay. They'll have to stick together. The help they give each other in rebuilding would be their investment for the future. In their fear of me, their union will allow them to thrive."

"That's one way of looking at it, I suppose." Chi said.

Junior raised an eyebrow questionably at her (if skeletons had eyebrows). "What's the other way?"

"You claim that you're doing all this so that the realms stay united, but maybe your reasons are even simpler than that. Maybe the reason why you want all the realms united against you is because when you attack them, you'd take out all your enemies at once and have no one left to fight you."

Junior's look became unreadable after Chi spoke. "Yes…I suppose that is something I could do."

Chi studied the Reaper's blank expression to get some kind of a read on him, but suddenly found herself drawn to his eyes. It wasn't the color that was familiar to her but the pure force behind them. She'd only ever seen eyes like those once in her life. The first time she'd ever met Mandy. The last time she ever saw her father alive.

Chi's panic within started to grow and she almost fell backwards in her chair when Junior suddenly got up from the table.

"I hope I've satisfied your curiosity for the day, M'dear." He said as he walked past her. "Please, help yourself to the rest of the food. If you'd like more, I'm sure Jeff would be happy to oblige. Good night." He patted her on the back and left the room.

Chi sat at the table in silence. She was pinned down and she knew it.

Every option she thought of doing was something she could easily believe the Reaper wanted her to do. Telling the council of his plan wouldn't help her and doing nothing certainly wouldn't stop him. He had her trapped in her uncertainty and fear.

Just like his mother had done.

Chi had lost her appetite.

She did not sleep that night and when morning came she departed back to her home, still feeling like those eyes were gazing through her.


	7. The Fight, part 1

**Part 7: The Fight, part 1**

As expected, the council was not at all happy with the actions Junior had taken of late, especially in regards to his quick marriage to Chi. Inter-realm marriages were something of great controversy in the old council and there was a bit of an unwritten rule that it was forbidden, to keep all the realms from gaining too much power, as Aku once had to tell his daughter when she'd set her mind on marrying Mimi. The speed and method of which Junior used to make Chi marry him had given the council no time to react and made it clear that he'd deliberately acted against their wishes. Tensions grew even higher when rumors started surfacing about how he'd gotten the Box Ghost to become the new warden.

At the meetings that followed after Walker's failed invasion there was some verbal finger waging at Junior but that was all it amounted to. With no proof of any technical wrong doing and with the current lack of power the other realms commanded, the council was in no position to do anything about Death's actions. _Coincidentally_ …it was during these meetings that the rulers of the realms started to really talk and work out official deals on helping each other rebuild. An official treaty was even in the works for the rulers to sign, promising aid to any of their member worlds that found itself attacked.

Chi was probably the only one who noticed the momentary smirks under the Reaper's hood.

The rulers worked tirelessly to work out the details of the treaty, most agreeing to the terms quite easily, as no one was focusing on screwing anyone else over with the threat they felt loomed over them. Atem, like most of the council members, had been quite shocked by Junior very sudden grab at power and, though trying to remain friendly, found it much harder to find the child he'd once played with within the new Death and distanced himself carefully. There were only two rulers whose attitudes towards Junior remained unchanged: Bill Cipher, who was never really effected by anything anyone ever did, and Hunson Abadeer, who in fact found Junior's power play quite impressive and was perhaps the only ruler who stayed friendly towards him, which is even more impressive when it is considered that Hunson's realm is the last of the Big Four that Junior doesn't control and very well could be the first on his list to seize.

Everything was going exactly how Junior claimed he wanted it to.

However, things changed starting on that one fateful day.

"Still no luck finding it in the city?" Junior asked his skeletal servant within his office.

"No sir." The guard stated. "We've been doing deep sweeps through the city, but we've had to go slower than we did in the Ghost Zone to keep Lady Chi from getting wind of our operation."

"Fair enough." Death said as he pondered. "What's the status of the one in the Ghost Zone?"

"We've almost broken through the protections your mother placed around it. Control over the device should be yours by the end of the week."

"Alright. Keep me posted."

"Of course sir." The guard bowed. "If you don't mind me asking, sir, what are your plans for obtaining the one in the Nightosphere?"

"I'm still working on that one. You know how Hunson's realm is. Getting in isn't the problem, it's getting back out."

"We could lead an undercover kamikaze team in. They could stay in the realm forever to find the device."

"There's still the risk that Hunson could find out what we're up to. I'm not going to let the other rulers get their hands on-"

Junior then found his office door kicked down so hard it flew across the room and imbedded itself into the wall behind him.

"Hi Chi." Junior said, recognizing his wife's handiwork before he even saw her in the doorframe.

The Shoguness's face reflected the deep well of rage that flowed through her being. "You son of a bitch."

" _Surprisingly accurate description actually."_ Junior thought to himself. "What is it now, Chi?"

"You knew this entire time!"

Junior was silent for a moment. "William, leave us."

"Yes sir." The guard bowed and left the room, neither ruler seeing him break out into a run as soon as he got out.

As the door began to repair itself Junior focused on his wife. "How'd you find out?"

Chi's flames blazed with more fury than ever before as she approached his desk. "All that help the realms have been giving each other. It put all of us pretty close to each other's operations. Horus asked to have a meeting with me over Egypt, hoping that because our fathers were both ancient ones we might have some common ground and could be partners. And that's where I saw her."

Junior could tell by her posture that it was taking every ounce of self-control she had not to just tear his head from his body right then and there.

"She was just a little Egyptian girl, barely a year old, but I felt it the moment I saw her." Chi continued. "I thought at first it was just wishful thinking, something that I just really wanted to be true. But then I asked Horus more about their reincarnation process and took a look at their logs. And when I confronted Atem…he spilled everything."

"What did you do to Atem?" Junior asked, knowing the king wouldn't have betrayed him so easily.

"Nothing he won't be able to claim was an accident."

Chi's fingers dug into the Reaper's desk in her anger. So much so that cracks started to spread from those points.

"You brought her there just a few weeks after you killed Mandy. That was before the council held its meeting. You KNEW what happened to Mimi when we saw each other back then! You've known where she was this entire time!"

"What's your point?" Junior asked flatly.

Chi threw his desk across the room, doing it so hard that it nearly took out the entire wall.

"She was the woman I loved! I thought I'd never see her again because you got her killed, and then when you found her again, you guaranteed it! Because of her reincarnation, she'll never remember me! She'll never remember what we meant to each other!"

"The decision had nothing to do with you." Junior stated, getting up from his chair.

"What the hell give you the right to decide Mimi's fate?!"

"I get to decide her fate because I'm Death." Junior raised his voice at her. "I decide who goes where and when and if you cared at all about Mimi then you'd be happy about what I did. This is a chance for her to finally have a happy life, away from all this crap."

"I would have given her a happy life!" Chi yelled at him. "I was going to marry her and make her happy long before you ever came between us and ruined everything! I loved her!"

"Well then maybe she just didn't love you!" Junior snapped at her.

He'd gone too far and he knew it. Chi was struck silent by his remark and the dilation of her eyes told him everything. Just his one comment wasn't enough to hurt her, but it was aided by all the similar thoughts Chi had over the years. There was no doubt that Chi loved Mimi with all her heart, perhaps even with too much of it, but loved her nonetheless. But Chi also had many doubts through the years, wondering if Mimi really loved her back. She often cast aside these doubts as foolish and unthinkable, but they stayed in the back of her mind, waiting to pop up again. And having someone from outside her own head declare this to her…it struck a blow.

Junior turned away from her. "Now get out of my office. I'm through arguing with you."

Junior waited for a few moments. From the sound of it she wasn't even moving. Then she spoke.

"You think you know more about love than me? Then prove it."

Junior turned back to question her statement and then found himself unable to speak, the sight before him too much for him to deal with.

The form Chi had taken was terribly familiar to the Reaper. The purple outfit with the flower between the collar and the skull between the belt, white gloves and boots, the devil style pointed hair and the stiches along her body and face. Though Chi's black and green coloring leaked into this form, Junior knew exactly who this was meant to be. This was how Minimandy had looked when Chi'd first met the siblings, though with some parts taller and more bodacious to account for aging. Junior almost unconsciously had to take a step back.

"Get out of that form, Chi." He sharply warned.

Chi smiled internally. After all the Reaper's manipulations, after all he'd put her through, she finally could see the cracks appearing in what she once thought to be an unbreakable shell. She never thought she'd actually do this to him, even when she'd first thought of the idea. The idea seemed like something that'd be either too petty or too cruel to use. But right now she didn't care. She just wanted to hurt him. Hurt him as badly as she was hurting.

She walked slowly towards him, her hips purposely swaying as she went. "This is who you shared your love with, right? Your left eye is proof of that from what I understand. Your love must be so much greater than what Mimi and I shared. So why don't you give me a firsthand experience of it?"

"Chi…" Junior warned again as he backed away, failing to hide how badly this form was getting to him. He finally had to stop when his back hit the wall, allowing Chi to fully close the distance between them.

Chi started moving her hands from his chest up to his neck, her body pushed against his. "Show me all those naughty little things the two of you did when the lights were off and your parents weren't looking. Show me how good it felt to sin with her."

Her lips were just barely brushing up against his. "Show me how much you loved her."

Junior grabbed her by the throat and slammed her into the ground.

"GET OUT OF THAT FORM! NOW!"

Chi, like her father, was not a being that needed to breathe. There was no windpipe for Junior to be crushing at that moment. But that wasn't the problem. The Reaper was very powerful, especially when he was not in control of his emotions. All his power was leaking out and forcing itself down upon her, the pressure demanding that she change form. Now. Now!

As she continued to be crushed against the floor by his sheer power Chi eventually gave and changed back to normal. The second she did this she was thrown by Junior against the wall. She got up immediately, but did not attack as she normally would have. She'd never seen the Reaper this angry before and not with this kind of power backing him. She was afraid. And ran.

It was mere seconds after Chi fled from the room that Jeff entered it in a panic.

"Junior, I heard all the crashing. What's wrong?"

"Get out." He said quietly.

"What?"

"GET OUT!" Death roared as he waved his hand, causing a great wind to knock the spider out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

Rubbing his head as he got up, Jeff tried to open the door again but it wouldn't budge. Junior had locked himself away.

Not knowing what he could do to help him, Jeff decided to go find Chi and make sure she was alright.

…

Jeff found the door to Chi's room wide open.

Jeff still knocked before entering. "Chi? Are you ok? Are you hurt?"

Looking in, the room was completely dark, with Chi sitting in silence on her bed, gazing at the blood red sword in her hands. It took Jeff a second to see the eyes spread across the blade's handle.

"…Chi…where did you get that?" Jeff asked with great fear.

The Shoguness ignored him, still not speaking for the longest time. Jeff was about to come to her side to comfort her when she suddenly rose up from the bed, the sword tightly clenched in her hand.

Jeff eyed the sword very carefully as he backed into the doorway. "Chi…what…uh…what are you going to do with that?"

"Get out of my way."

"What?"

"Get out of my way or I'll kill you." Chi looked at him with pure cold eyes. Jeff had seen this stare from many of the warriors and rulers he'd met around the Underworld while working for Him. He'd even seen it from Him himself a few times. When they gave people this stare, it was no joke. This stare was as close to a warning as they'd ever give.

Jeff stood aside as Chi walked past him.

There was little doubt where she was heading. Jeff tried to talk her out of it while doing his best to stay out of her range.

"Chi, please, I know you're mad, but let's just talk about this first!"

"Go away, bug." She said as she made her way down the halls.

"But-but what are you two even fighting about?"

"He lied to me about Mimi this entire time. I never even had the chance to say goodbye. And then he claimed she never even loved me in the first place."

"Oh, come on, Chi, you know that's not true. Junior was probably just speaking out of anger. I'm sure if you two just sat down and talked this out-"

Chi then turned and pointed the sword directly between his many eyes, causing him to instantly stop moving.

"If I recall correctly, Atem said that you were there too when she left." Chi said darkly. "You also knew this entire time and never said anything."

Jeff looked down guiltily. "I know, but Junior ordered me not to tell anyone. But it was for a good reason! Him made a lot of enemies and with him gone they would want to take it out on her. He didn't want Mimi to have to suffer anymore."

Chi glared at him for a moment. "You honestly believe your master is a good man, don't you?"

"I know I can't excuse some of the things Junior has done, but I've also seen a lot of the good he's tried to do. Mimi saved his life a lot of times and I think Junior just wanted to repay her."

"He used her to hurt me. And when I returned the favor by using his sister against him, I saw him break. If he can break, then I can make him shatter." The sword's red blade seemed to get a little darker as she spoke.

"Chi…you didn't bring up Minnie, did you?" Jeff asked with worry.

Chi kept walking. Jeff tried to keep pace.

"Look, I can't excuse Junior for trying to hurt you, he shouldn't have done that, but Minnie is a very touchy subject for him."

"Oh, I'll bet there was a lot of touching going on between them."

"Not really what I meant." Jeff said, showing he was still unsure how to feel about _that_ whole situation.

They finally arrived at Death's door, still barricading the Reaper within.

"Chi, please, just wait!" Jeff begged her.

Chi faced the door, clutching the sword ever tighter. "I'm done running away." She said, the line making no sense to Jeff. "I don't care what happens to me anymore. I'm putting an end to this once and for all." She raised her sword upwards, focusing her power for the strike.

Jeff nervously watched. "Chi, please…"

"You have nothing more to say to me, bug. Go away." Her strike was prepared and she brought the blade down swiftly.

"What if I tell you about the night Mimi died?!" Jeff blurted.

The sword stopped just centimeters above the door, the evil essence within upset by the fact that it must hold off its destruction.

Chi turned to look back at the spider, now with more than just vengeance etched in her face.

"Follow me." Jeff asked her.

…

The mistress and servant entered a room of the castle she'd never been in (personally) before and had little interest in before now. It was a simple supply room for the castle. It held unique magical items, sure, but not to the level of being anything worthwhile.

Jeff opened up a small chest, within were several small glass balls.

Jeff took one out. "These are Remembrance Orbs." The spider explained. "They show you and others a third-person view of the memories of the holder. Junior used these when he first moved back into the castle to recall where all the traps were hidden."

Chi took one of the orbs. "How will this help?"

"Well, memories can get foggy overtime, but these orbs show exactly what happened in the events of the memories it recalls, even if the holder was completely convinced it happened a different way. So instead of me just telling you what happened and leaving open the possibility that I could be lying, I'm going to show you what happened so you know the truth."

"It's also not a bad loophole around your master's "Don't talk about it" rule." Chi pointed out.

Jeff rubbed his neck. "Well, I know Junior doesn't want me, or anyone who works for him for that matter, to talk about Mimi or his family…but I think you have a right to know what happened. And…"

"And what?"

"…Maybe this will help you and Junior understand each other a bit better"

Chi looked at him. "Don't hold your breath."

Jeff took a moment and then squeezed the orb, causing light to spread from it.

"It happened more than three years ago…"


	8. The Fight, part 2

**Part 8: The Fight, part 2**

Three years before war's end

"The coast is clear." The one-eyed demon reaper said to his fellow runaways.

A handless teenage girl appeared out from behind the rocks, a small soul head following her.

"Is it really safe here, Junior?" Jeff asked as he floated over.

"Relax, Jeff. This is the Chasm of the Heylin. No one's passed through here since those monks destroyed Wu-Ya, too much of her dark magic is etched into these cliffs. Besides, we're not staying. We're just trying to cross through and get to the temple. We'll be safe there."

Mimi gave him the look.

"Ok, _safer_."

"I still don't like the idea of becoming a monk." Junior's nergal symbiote said to him.

"We're not becoming monks." Junior clarified to him for the hundredth time. "We're only going to them because their temples are one of the few neutral grounds Him and my mother haven't felt the need to attack, so we'll probably find more allies to keep us safe there."

"I just don't want them fast talking us into taking vows of chastity and enlightenment. Mimi would look terrible with a shaved head!" The symbiote explained.

Mimi grasped her hair and glared at him.

"Just sayin…"

"I think you're confusing Shaolin monks with cults, dude." Junior said to the tentacle speaking to him.

" _Besides, not all monks are into celibacy."_ The spirit of Nergal Senior said to them. _"I once knew a monk who seemed convinced it was his duty to personally restart his entire culture. Tough time for his wife, it was."_

"That makes me feel a little better." The symbiote sighed in relief.

" _Anyway, I think it'd be too late for some of you to take that vow." Nergal added. "Jeff, didn't you lay a bunch of eggs years ago?"_

"They can't hear you, remember?"

" _Oh right. Junior, ask Jeff about all those eggs he laid years ago."_

"I am not going to ask my only male friend about his eggs."

"Hey!" The symbiote cried.

"Male and not attached to me."

Jeff and Mimi, having grown accustomed to Junior talking to himself, paid him no mind as the group continued to walk through the chasm. Noticing that Mimi was still clutching her hair, Jeff tried to comfort her.

"I think you'd look beautiful with a shaved head." He said to her.

Never knowing Jeff to be a very good liar, Mimi smiled at him and held his soul between her arms, a change from her childhood that had become common since Junior reunited them.

Mimi walked closer to Junior, asking him a question through her head movements.

"Oh course I'm staying with you guys when we get there." Junior said. "I made a promise to you that I'd protect you and Jeff once I got stronger and I'm not going back on it. Him and my mother can send whoever they want after us. I'll keep you safe."

Mimi relaxed slightly and was about to joke with him more about the becoming monks idea when suddenly the group heard a voice out of nowhere.

"If I recall correctly from our days long past, thee once made a similar vow to me."

The three stopped dead in their tracks, searching for the source of the female's words.

"…A vow so strong that thee would oppose Heaven itself to keep me, for mine soul belonged to thee and thee alone."

Junior recognized the voice and saw the female shape hidden in the darkness ahead of them.

"Minnie?" He asked, fearful yet hopeful at the same time. He attempted to take a step forward towards her but Mimi grabbed him by the back of his robe and signaled that they needed to run.

"Mimi, what're you-?"

"Thine pet is doing as all valorous dogs should and is warning her master of the danger he approaches."

Minnie stepped out of the darkness and Junior barely recognized the woman before him. Though the stiches remained his sister was not the child she'd been when Junior had last seen her seven years ago. Her body was that of a teenager, which was fitting to her age but impossible, as afterbirth bodies do not grow. But even her change of stature was not the most noticeable of her appearance. Her once bright blond hair had not only grown longer but darker by a few shades. The pink skin similar to their aunt's had taken a more reddish hue. And her single remaining eye burned just fiercely as Junior remembered their mother's.

"Minnie, what did you do?" Junior asked, taken aback by her appearance.

"What? Thee didn't expect me to stay in that inferior body forever, didst thee?" Minnie asked him. "Or perhaps thee desired that would beest the case. To have thine rival and little sister forever stuck in her place."

Still stunned by her sudden appearance before him Junior ignored Mimi's warning tugs on his robe that they needed to run. Now.

"Mine grown form is a gift from Father Death." Minnie continued. "Twas a dangerous procedure, to move mine soul from one afterbirth to another, more suitable form. But tis rare that any true conquest is made without risk, such as mine red color is proof of."

Mimi really tugged on Junior now, her fear causing Minnie to almost smirk.

"Though thee may not recall the Devil's essence from the single time thee ever saw it, thy pet forsooth does. Tis a power the lady doest not wish to risk infecting her again."

Junior's eye went wide. He may have only ever seen it once, but he knew exactly what it was. The pure evil that Him shattered Mimi's innocence with as a child. The power his mother had ripped out of her when she broke into their home.

"Minnie, are you crazy?! You've seen what that stuff has done to people! Why would you ever infect yourself with that?!"

Minnie glared at him. "Thou has't been blissfully unaware of the change in mine feelings towards thee. Seven years ago thee left our home with thy tramp to escape involvement with our mother's war, leaving me behind, even though thee promised to stayeth by mine side as well. When I wasn't in search for thee myself, I sat waiting for thee to returneth to me, as thee once had before in mine most desperate hour. But thee nev'r didst. Thee abandoned me, as I nev'r should has't doubted thee would when I used up mine purpose to thee."

Guilt filled the eye and eye-socket of the young Reaper. He walked slowly towards her. "Minnie, that's not true. I didn't want to leave you behind, I just-"

His speech was interrupted by the slash across his midsection. Though not deep enough to go all the way through him the gash stunned him and brought springs of bright green Nergal blood to the surface and along Minnie's rapier.

Minnie continued her glare at her brother as his knees hit the ground. "I tooketh this cursed power for the same reason that many grab power: I wish to has't vengeance upon the one who hath wronged me so greatly. You, dearest kin."

Before she could slash Junior again, Mimi grabbed him and threw him behind her and Jeff. Minnie then disappeared for a second before appearing under Mimi and kicking upwards into her jaw, sending her flying.

Seeing his friend in danger Junior finally acted, spawning forth an arm cannon and fired warning shots at the ground before his sister.

"I don't want to fight you, Minnie!"

"Then falleth down and accept the suffering thee art so deserving of for thy lies!" She exclaimed as she dove at him, nearly impaling his shoulder. Junior couldn't bring himself to shoot her at such a close range, so instead attempted to restrain her with the tentacles that burst from his back. But Minnie spoke Nergalese and the tentacles turned against him instead.

"Dude, what are you doing?!"

"It's not me, bro!" The symbiote defended. "She's controlling me!"

"Has't our years apart truly wasted thy mind? Has't thee truly forgotten whose power thee flaunt so oft belongs to?" Minnie asked as Junior fought off the attack from his own body.

"Nergal, do something!" He said.

" _Sorry kiddo."_ The black spirit said, quite in shock over his granddaughter's actions. _"I only helped create the Nergal species, I don't control them."_

Jeff flew over to her. "Minnie, please stop! You're brother and sister, you shouldn't be fighting like this!"

Minnie glared at the soul and Jeff suddenly went flying into the chasm walls. "Thee truly art a valorous soul. So much so that with no body to shield thee, thee cannot stomach to beest around evil so pure."

Mimi ran up behind Minnie and grabbed her in a Full Nelson style lock. Such a move wasn't much use with only her being available to fight, but Minnie realized instantly what she was trying to do.

"Thee seek to calleth the Devil's essence back into yourself and end mine wrath against mine brother." She said calmly. "Such a noble sacrifice one would not tend to expect from the spawn of a Devil and a whore. However, thou has't madeth a small miscalculation."

Mimi's grip started to slip and found herself suddenly thrown at the wall.

"It doest not want thee anymore!"

Her one eye instantly caught the movement as Junior dove at her, his Nergal scythe being caught by her demonic rapier. The two locked eyes for just a second before pushing each other back.

Junior blasted his arm cannon at her but Minnie danced out of the way, running along the walls to attack him. The Devil's essence made her much faster than the already speedy Demon Reaper and it took everything he had just to dodge her rapid attacks.

When there was finally an opening Junior dove behind her and grabbed Mimi and Jeff, spawning wings and shooting straight up to get out of the chasm.

Minnie would have none of this. Grasping the blood-red bow that appeared before her, she took aim and fired perfectly, tearing through his left wing.

There wasn't enough time to spawn a new one before they'd hit the ground, so Junior commanded his remaining wing to separate from him and place itself under Mimi. When both hit the ground, the wing softened the blow that would have otherwise crippled her. Junior hit the ground with full force, but that was of little consequence to the Demon Reaper.

Tilting his head up from the ground, Junior found Minnie standing over him, the point of her rapier between his eye-sockets.

"Minnie…I never wanted to hurt you by leaving…" He tried to tell her. "I didn't take you with me because I didn't want you be a target like I made myself. I thought you'd be safer back home."

Minnie glared at him still, her sword not moving an inch. "Junior… while thy abandonment filled me with most wondrous hatred and emptiness, it is not the only sin I seek to punish thee for this night."

The point pressed slightly further into Junior's skull. "I wish destroy thee because thee hath broken mine heart."

Junior was about to talk when Minnie then grabbed him by the head and tossed him around, smacking him against the ground and the walls violently, before releasing him and causing him to tumble against the rocks.

Minnie walked unnaturally calmly over to the huddled mess that was her brother. And as he struggled to get up, Minnie slashed him in the back.

"All I ever wanted wast for thee to love me, just as greatly as I loved thee. For a time, I thought thee didst. But that wast just a lie. Thee hath used mine weakness to destroy me. Thee truly art our mother's child."

"Minnie, that's not-"

Junior was silenced by another slice to the back.

"Our entire childhood thee envied the praise given to me. That envy turned to hatred as mine power grew while yours wast still unrealized. And thee wast finally able to maketh me pay the night I died."

"Minnie…" Junior begged as his back throbbed with pain and blood. Minnie cut him again.

"In mine last moments of life I gaveth the power thee so greatly wanted, not only to save thy life, but peradventure allow thee to finally understandeth mine feelings in death. And thee didst... all too well."

Minnie took a step back to admire her handiwork on her sibling before continuing.

"Mine heart soared at which hour thee cameth to rescue me from the claws of Him. I thought you'd accepted mine feelings, that the new form thee hadst placed me in and thy promise to protect me forevermore, meanteth that perhaps thee wast starting to develop the same love in thy heart... But that wast all a lie."

Seeing Junior starting to heal back up Minnie swiftly kicked him in the stomach. Again and again, until he fell back down.

"The realization of what you'd done to me hit as soon as you left home!" Minnie said, her skin growing more reddish and her usual very formal language taking the back seat to her rage. "I was alone and powerless, my soul locked away in a frail body that would never grow, cursing me as a child for the rest of my days! My skills would only take me so far and the one bit of actual power I had was stolen from me by the very man who put me in that position!"

Junior groaned as he clutched his stomach, trying to speak to her. But she would have done of it. Her rapier grasped tightly in hand, she sliced again and again at the Reaper, not to kill him, but to make him suffer.

"All I ever wanted was for you to love me! And you used that to take everything you could from me until I wasn't even worth your time anymore!"

As she hacked away the symbiote spoke to him. "Junior, you gotta fight back, bro! I'm not able to protect you because of her control!"

But Junior wasn't listening. All he could hear were his sister accusations echoing through his skull. He never meant to hurt her. He never meant to take so much from her.

But he did.

"I hate you!" She screamed as she drove the weapon through him, causing it took burst through his chest.

Blood spurted out from the Reaper's mouth. His body was racked with pain and he barely thought of it. He turned his head to see the face of the one whom had once sworn her soul to him out of love and lust, now twisted by unimaginable hate for him. By what he did to her.

Tears streamed down from his single eye.

"Minnie…I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…"

Her face broke, just for a second, and her eye became that of the sister he'd once know. The one who felt sorrow over the suffering she was putting him through.

But the second was over and the rage overtook her again.

"Get up!" She yelled as she drew out her weapon from his body. "Get up so I **can knock you back down!** " Her voice deeper and became more demonic as she spoke. Her skin grew darker and red sparks fell from her body.

Junior didn't get back up. He'd hurt her enough.

Infuriated by his refusal to fight back, Minnie prepared to hack away at his head this time. But then Mimi grabbed her again, just as she had before, biting her on the shoulder this time to boot.

Minnie didn't even register the pain. All she noticed was her attempt to take back the Devil's Essence again.

" **Get it through your head, you little tramp, it doesn't want you anymore!** " Minnie struggled to get Mimi off her back, but she wouldn't budge, her grip strong enough to keep her from being thrown like last time. She would not release herself until she received the essence.

And there was something she knew about the essence that would allow her to.

The essence was attracted to sin. That's what caused it to be so infatuated with Minnie the first time it saw her in Mandy's vault. Her rage and envy towards Junior showing affection to another woman, it was irresistible and only grew as time went on.

If Mimi was to draw the essence back to her, she had to fill herself with greater sin, and she did. Wrath.

Wrath towards the one person who had hurt her more than any other. Her father, who had destroyed her life, who killed all her friends, who made her kill her own mother. For years, even within the emptiness of her soul, she'd thought about all the terrible things she'd put him through to make him pay and how she'd enjoy every last moment of it.

This pit of hatred was certainly enough to get the essence's attention, as it tried to spread to her, turning her skin its former red color. However, Minnie was certainly not lacking in hatred and the essence wanted to stay with her too. Normally sharing itself would be no problem, such as with Jack's sword, but this was different. The essence was being pulled two different directions, neither woman wanting the other to have a single drop left in them.

" **I'm through letting you take things from me!** " Minnie roared at her, to which Mimi responded by hitting her with an iron with "STFU" engraved on the side. It didn't help to lessen her rage.

Junior finally managed to get to his feet. The sight before him was of his best friend and his sister pulling the red power back and forth between them. Sparks flew violently from the battle as Junior could see the wear and tear forming on the two women's souls from their struggle.

"We've got to stop them."

"How?" The symbiote asked. "Unless you're willing to shish kabob your sister right now, I don't think we've got much of a say in this fight."

Junior thought hard about what to do and then struggled greatly with what he had to do.

With all her attention focused on Mimi, Minnie never saw the Reaper's spirit chains coming to impale her. Junior tugged, but Minnie's hatred made the essence quite territorial and refuse to give her up.

" **Let go of me!** " Minnie yelled as she fought off the attacks from both Mimi and Junior.

Junior held strong. "I'm sorry, Minnie. For everything. But I have to stop this.

Minnie rage grew even stronger and she grabbed the chained pulling on her soul and pulled on them instead, dragging her brother closer.

The sparks grew worse, causing red cracks to appear in the chains. Minnie was too strong. As the distance between them lessened to barely 3 feet, the battle for the essence pushed hard against the Reaper. He'd break eventually.

And that's when an idea struck Mimi. With the tail that had now returned to her form, she wacked Junior hard in the back, causing him to tumble straight into Minnie, and more importantly, his lips into hers.

The eyes of both siblings went wide and both thought back to the one time Junior had to kiss her before, back in Him's domain. And this brief flashback to the time of her love and the split-second absence of her hate had been enough, as the rest of the essence flew from Minnie and bonded back to its former master. The force of which shot her away from Minnie's back finally and caused the siblings to tumble away from each other.

However, things were not well for Mimi. In her time away apart from the essence she'd been able to rebuild the soul and humanity she once thought lost to her, and that soul didn't want the essence anywhere near it, as it tried to force it out. And as Mimi forced it to stay in, the backlash was taken out on her very being, as the power started to tear her apart.

"Mimi, you have to stop!" Junior called out to her over the red sparks. "Your body can't handle it anymore! You have to let it go before it's too late!"

Mimi shook her head in refusal, knowing that if she let the power out it would be drawn back to Minnie again.

Speaking of whom, the daughter of Death had regained her usual pink coloring and blond hair, though her teenage build had remained, as that was unconnected to the Devil's essence. She got up from where she'd been tossed, the rapier still in her hand. She didn't talk, she just had her eye locked onto Mimi. Mimi made the universal signal for "Bring it on, bitch" and Minnie attacked.

"No!" Junior cried as a final soul chain burst from his arm.

It impaled her at the same time she impaled Mimi.

And then Mimi smiled at her.

Minnie was about to question what was so funny when red energy of a different sort started to flow through her, the chain stuck through her back, and Junior as well. Mimi looked past her so that Junior could see her once last time.

She then spoke for the first time since Junior had known her.

"Take…care…"

"Mimi!" Junior yelled out before he and Minnie vanished in a flash of bright red light.

The rapier still stuck in her chest, Mimi sat down on the ground and bled out. Jeff dodged every spark that still flew from her to come to her side. He'd never felt more useless.

"Mimi…hold on…please…" The spider soul begged quietly to her. There was nothing else he could do. "If only I could have kept you away from Him…if only I'd been there more to protect you…if I…if I…"

Jeff, lost in his grief, was taken by surprise when Mimi grabbed him, hugging him tightly between her arms. Jeff had never wished more greatly than now that he had arms to hug back with.

Mimi kissed him on top of the forehead and the red energy started flowing through him.

"Mimi?" Jeff asked.

He then vanished in a flash of red light.


	9. The Fight, part 3

**Part 9: The Fight, part 3**

The memory the orb showed the two ended. Chi said nothing as Jeff put back the orb. In her silence, he explained a bit more.

"When Mimi got her powers back, she teleported us away. I don't know where she sent Junior and Minnie to, but I was sent to Limbo. We'd gone there so much when she was younger, so I guess that's why. I was just a soul there though, so I couldn't get out. I was trapped there for three years until Junior came and found me. He'd been looking for Mimi."

"How'd you know about Nergal Senior if you couldn't see him?" Chi asked, questioning the validity of the memory she was shown.

"Apparently we can see and hear astral projections and spirits all the time, we just don't always realize it." Jeff answered. "That's why they sometimes show up in photos and on camera, because you can notice more in a still or replayed image. Least that's how it was explained to me growing up."

Chi had been told something similar by her father long ago, so this wasn't too hard to believe. But that still didn't change her temperament.

"Did you have some sort of purpose in showing me this, other than to delay me?" She asked softly. "Were you hoping I'd temper my rage against Grim because it was more his sister's fault that Mimi died than his?"

"Well, I mean, I don't want you to blame Minnie either…she wasn't exactly in the best state of mind…"

"I'm not forgiving either of them." Chi snapped, startling him. "I now know the role the Bitch Princess played in my beloved's death and thus my hatred for her has grown. But my feelings toward him are unchanged. I can forgive him for keeping Mimi away from me during his travels because, I suppose, Him and Mandy are the ones ultimately responsible for that situation. And after seeing Mimi's heroic sacrifice firsthand, maybe in a couple thousand years I could have learned to forgive him for his family problems getting her killed. But never for what he's done now. He sent her away, to a place and form I cannot follow. Even when she dies and he reminds her of all that was in her previous life, she'll never truly remember what we meant to each other and thus she will never share with me those same feelings as she once did."

Chi's face was of quiet rage, but Jeff noticed the tears forming in the darkness of her eyes.

"I can never be with the one I love ever again and I cannot forgive him for that."

Things were quiet between them before Jeff spoke up again. "I know I can't truly understand how you feel…but I think that maybe you and Junior can understand each other."

"Oh, bullshit."

"I'm serious." Jeff insisted. "When I got out of Limbo, I learned that Minnie died in Mandy's bombing of the Land of Tainted Souls. Junior never talks about it, but from what I understand, she went there either with him or because of him. I never could find out why they went there in the first place. But I don't think Junior ever forgave himself for what happened to her. He believed her when she said he ruined her life and then having her die again with him…not to mention the guilt he feels over the deaths of Mimi and Mandy…"

"Why would he feel guilty over killing Mandy?"

"She was his mother."

"Him was Mimi's father. You think there was any love lost between them?"

Jeff opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it, knowing she had a point.

"…my point is, I think losing so many of the people he's cared about has really taken a toll on him. He doesn't act like the Junior that Mimi and I used to know. Ever since helping Mimi move on he's been getting considerably more…well…grim in his attitude and these takeovers of your realm and the Ghost Zone…it's way more aggressive than he used to be. He says it's to get the other realms to band together, but I think he's being self-destructive. I think he actually wants someone to take him out. He hates himself for what he's done and what he thinks he's done and wants someone to put an end to it."

"…Pathetic." Chi said under her breath, but from the change in her eyes, Jeff could tell she didn't fully mean that.

"I think what Junior really needs is for someone to try and help him and I've gotten as close as I can. He won't let me in any further. I know you two don't get along, but if there's anyone who can get through to him, I think it's you."

"Why would it be me?" Chi asked.

"Because I think you're the only one he has left."

After a few minutes passed with neither saying anything, Jeff skittered out of the room, leaving Chi to think.

…

The door to Junior's office was slashed open. Death didn't even turn around in his chair to see who it was, as it was already pretty obvious.

"If you're here to talk more or destroy my stuff, just do it and leave." Junior said with his back turned.

Chi looked around the office, which was in shambles. Though from the look of things some of it had been destroyed after he forced her out.

She'd thought hard about what she was going to do once she made it back to this room. What she was going to say to someone like her husband. In the end, there was only one thing she could say.

"Don't act like you're so special."

It was a moment of stunned silence before Junior finally had to turn his chair around, just out of sheer curiosity for that statement.

"Excuse me?"

"You're not the only one who's lost the people they care about, so don't act like you're some kind of martyr because of it." Chi explained, not angrily but more like she was actually trying to make a point to him. "You lost your sister and will never see her again? Well join the club because I'm never going to see Mimi again. Your entire family is gone and you're all alone and you think it's your fault that your sister is dead? Mandy killed my father. He was my only family. He was everything to me and she cut him down. And when she came after me, Demongo stepped in and saved my life. But you know exactly what happened to him next. The love of my life is gone, my family is gone, and the closest thing I've probably ever had to a friend died to save me. If I just sat around feeling sorry for myself like you I'd never get anything done and I'd be hugely disrespecting everything they've ever done for me. …So…you know…don't act like you're so special…"

Chi folded her arms and looked off to the side while Junior sat, rather stunned. Chi, of all people, was one of the last people he would ever expect to say anything remotely close to "I understand" and "Stop blaming yourself".

Not sure of really what to do, he simply said "I'll…keep that in mind…"

"…You do that…" Chi said rather quietly, paving way for the awkward silence as the two Underworld rulers found themselves unable to look directly at each other.

After a few minutes, Chi finally broke the silence. "I'm heading back to my city. I've probably been gone too long."

"Right." Junior said as he stood up. He swung his scythe to open the portal for her.

She stopped just before she entered and slowly turned to him. "If you ever lay your hands on me like that again…I'm going to tear them off…got it?"

"Got it."

"…Good."

And she entered the portal and it closed behind her.

Junior sat back down in his chair.

" _Chi…"_

…

Chi sat on the bed within her room of Aku castle. She'd ordered all her guards to stay outside. She wanted to be alone.

She eyed the orb she'd pocketed in her hand for the longest time, trying to decide if she really wanted to do this.

It was not something she ever wanted to relive…

She squeezed the orb.

…

" _That didn't happen…that didn't just happen…" Chi told herself as she knelt down on the floor, arms wrapped around herself. "That didn't just happen…"_

 _Right out the window from her room she'd been watching her father's epic battle with Mandy's forces. For the crime of being in league with Him, Mandy had taken her war to the City of Aku. Her father had no trouble in dispatching the armies she sent at him, tearing through wave after wave of soldiers and robots. Even destroying the giant mech suit when Mandy herself fought against him. Chi never had any doubt her father would win. He was invincible._

 _That's why her mind couldn't take it when she watched him fall._

" _That didn't just happen…" Chi told herself again, trying to deny the reality._

 _She got up and ran out of her room. She had to get outside and see her father. See that he was still alive. He had to still be alive._

 _She ran and ran, all the way to the castle's main entrance hall. And then she stopped when she saw the doors open, frozen as she heard the small echoing clacks of the woman's shoes on the tile._

" _I figured I'd find Aku's brat in here."_

 _It was Mandy, the blond empress of Death. The Bitch Queen. Her father's murderer._

" _Are you actually going to do something or just stand there?" She asked Chi. The shogun's daughter couldn't move. Her fear was overwhelming her and she couldn't focus enough to use her powers. She wanted to run but didn't dare to take the first step._

 _After receiving no answer from her, Mandy decided to toy with the girl. "I wonder how hard you'll be to kill compared to your father. Let's test it." She unsheathed the sword kept at her side, causing Chi's spine to straighten._

" _I'm sure your father has told you at least some tales of this sword." She said as she held the fine red blade between her fingertips. "I knew the owner a bit when I was a child. He was alright."_

 _Seeing that Chi wasn't going anywhere, Mandy continued talking and eyeing the blade. "It used to be that it could only be wielded by a righteous being to slay the foulest of evils. A useless tool in my hands. But, in recent years, it's taken on a new task that is a bit more to my liking. Now it can only be used by the most sinister of beings to slay any being of lesser evil than its wielder. It worked wonders on your father. I'm almost tempted to take back some of the things I said to Grim when he first made the sword like this. Almost."_

 _Mandy allowed a moment of silent tension to sink into the child's heart before she suddenly tossed the sword up in the air. It spun rapidly across the room before the blade struck down into the floor, right in front of Chi._

" _Take it." Mandy commanded._

" _W-What?"_

" _Take. It." She commanded again._

 _In the panic of wanting to avoid the bitch's wrath for even just another few seconds, Chi complied and yanked the sword out of the ground. She could feel the perverse power emanating from it. The eyes on the handle felt like they were staring into her soul and she felt very ill._

" _There are two things you can do with that sword." Mandy said, snapping Chi's attention back to her. "One, you can use it to fight me. Avenge your father by killing his murderer with the very weapon used to take his life. Or two, if you're too much of a coward to fight, you can do the honorable thing and commit Seppuku. It'll work on you. Trust me, there are few things that blade won't kill. So what do you chose?"_

 _It was a sadistic choice, but Chi knew which she'd chose. She grasped the sword firmly with both hand and pointed the tip at Mandy. This was her chance to avenge her father. She would not fail._

 _But she still couldn't move. She felt like she was being crushed by the queen's presence. Mandy wasn't doing anything other than just standing there, but her eyes…it felt like they were the only thing in the room. Like they were weighing Chi down with every second she was in their sight. As the moments rolled on the sword trembled greatly in her hands and the only sound she could hear was her own terrified breathing. She finally made a move when a thought blared into her head._

"I don't want to die!"

 _She turned and ran._

" _I thought so." Mandy said as she pulled out her gun._

 _Aim perfect, she fired at Chi._

 _Chi fell over, expecting the bullet to cut through her any second now. But it never did. She looked behind her and found a dark black cape standing between her and Mandy. She had no idea who her savior was until she recognized the blue flames atop his head._

" _De-Demongo?"_

 _The loyal servant nodded his head, not looking away from the queen, whose neutral expression showed no signs of surprise to his sudden rescue. "It's going to be alright, Chi."_

" _H-how?"_

" _The curse that restricted my powers was my punishment for failing to kill the samurai all those years ago. It was lifted when your father-…I'm sorry, my lady."_

 _In her sorrow, she didn't look towards him._

" _You have to run, my lady." Demongo said, carefully watching the queen. "Run and never turn back."_

" _I…I can't just…I shouldn't…"_

" _Your father put me in charge of keeping you safe." He interrupted. "And while it was never easy putting up with you…I refuse to let anyone hurt you. Your life means more to me than you'll ever know."_

" _Demongo…"_

" _Chi…run."_

 _Chi went silent. She turned from her savior and ran._

 _Demongo stared back at the queen and opened his cape, setting loose all the warriors of Aku he could find since his powers had returned, to fight their final battle._

" _FOR AKU!"_

…

 _Thanks to her shapeshifting abilities, Chi was able to make it to the outskirts of the city without anyone catching her. She hadn't even realized she'd been clutching onto the sword ever since she left until now._

 _Her last glimpse of the city was of Mandy's flag being unfurled over Aku castle._

 _For the briefest of seconds, Chi considered Mandy's second option._

…

The memory ended. Chi cried silent tears.

"She would have killed you, you know."

She turned to see Junior standing at her window. She barely cared that he saw her like this.

"That's not the point and you know it."

Junior thrummed his fingers on the staff of his scythe, unsure what to say.

"There's not a day that goes by where I don't feel shame for running away like a coward." Chi continued. "I disgraced my father by what I did."

"Join the club." Junior said softly. "The one time my mother ever told me she was proud of me was when I killed her and even then I could have misheard her through the garbles of blood."

Chi looked at him with half-closed eyes.

"Right…bad example…" Junior said under his breath.

Chi looked away from him and out the window. Junior knew without even turning around what monument she gazed at.

"I lost the right to call myself a worthy ruler that day." She said. "The only reason I came back…was because I couldn't let the city my father fought to his last breath for to be taken by someone who would ruin all he built. …Someone like Walker…"

"…Someone like me." Junior added. Chi didn't respond.

Junior turned to gaze out the window as well. It was quiet for a few minutes more.

"I could take it down…if you want…" Junior said, getting Chi's attention. "Whatever my mother did to it to keep it stuck there…I'm sure I could find a way to undo it."

Chi never looked away from it. Though it could be blocked from view at certain points within the city, it was unobstructed from the castle. Hundreds of stories above the ground, the head of the city's once great ruler sits mounted on the massive spear of the bitch queen's destroyed mech, placed upon the tip after it was severed by the evil blade. There was never a day where Chi couldn't see it.

She thought hard about the Reaper's offer, staring at the monument throughout the silence.

Finally, she gave her answer.

"…No…my father gave his life fighting for this city. …I never want anyone to forget that. While everyone else ran from the bitch queen, he fought until he could fight no more. She placed him there as a symbol of her dominion, but to us…to me…it is a symbol of his strength."

"…I understand…" Junior said. "I won't ask again…"

After another bit of silence, Junior raised his scythe to make his portal home, figuring Chi would like to be alone right now, internally admitting to himself that he wasn't quite sure why he'd come in the first place.

But before swiping, he hesitated for a moment and then finally said something.

"…Chi?"

"What?"

He turned to face her. "I know that you want no part in this marriage…"

"How observant of you…"

"…but…the realm of Death is still partly yours…so if you ever need just somewhere to get away from all this crap…and then deal with my crap… just remember…you've still got a room back in Castle Grimskull. Always…if you want…"

Chi's eyes widened by just a little from the unexpectedness of that statement.

"I'll…I'll keep that in mind."

Junior made a quick nod to her before creating his portal and leaving.

Chi laid back into her bed, holding the orb in front of her face.

" _Grim…"_


	10. What about Grim?

**Part 10: What about Grim?**

 _ **Months before war's end:**_

 _Mandy entered the darkened living room of Castle Grimskull. It was quiet, save for her footsteps, and the only light in the room was emitted by the burning logs in the fireplace. Death sat in his armchair, facing the blaze. Mandy approached from behind him. The first thing she took notice of was the bottle of Cyanide and Happiness sitting next to him. It was unopened._

 _He wasn't in the mood to get drunk._

 _Grim hadn't turned when he heard her come in. "I knew about it…even before our servants gave me the news…" He said quietly to her. "…I felt it in me bones when it happened. The death…and then the going beyond death…I never thought I'd ever feel something like that in my lifetime."_

 _The flames cracked loudly in the quiet of the room as Grim continued talking. "If there ever was anyone who deserved that kind of fate, I suppose it would be Him. Never really liked anyone that came from his realm. …but you know that's not what's got me upset…"_

 _The fire cast shadows from underneath the Reaper's hood, allowing him to hide his face. His words towards Mandy were not angry or sad. Just filled with emptiness, like everything in him was just gone._

" _Junior and Minnie…they were there when the bomb went off… The feeling was so similar to the first time, when Minnie died…how her soul cried out for me, as all do when their time has come. …and then it stopped. Faded away with the others in that retched place."_

" _And Junior?" Mandy asked._

 _Grim kept looking sullenly into the fireplace. "I don't know. His soul didn't cry out for me. It just cried. And screamed. And roared. …It was in pain…but still there…"_

" _So he could still be alive?" There was no disappointment or hope in her question. As he'd always known her to, Mandy made herself unreadable._

" _I don't know…maybe…but after everything I felt from him…I'd honestly hope he wouldn't have to keep going after something like that. No one should."_

 _Mandy walked over to his side and gently grabbed the scythe that had been resting against the chair. Grim didn't say anything about it. Instead his eye-sockets looked over to the pitch black gun his wife held at her side._

" _That's for me I take it?" He asked._

 _Mandy nodded._

"… _thank you…"_

 _Mandy walked in front of him and loaded the gun. Grim just continued to look at the fire._

" _Over our years together, there was one thing I never doubted, Mandy. I never doubted that you'd be the one to put me in my grave. It was just a matter of when and how. And if there was ever going to be anyone who could figure out how to kill Death, it'd be you. No doubt."_

"… _The only thing…that has truly surprised me in the end…is that the happiest memories of my life…were all formed around what you've done for me…and what you gave me…"_

 _Mandy held the scythe at her side and took aim at her husband's skull._

"… _and now they're both gone…"_

 _Grim finally looked up to look upon his wife's face…one last time._

" _I'll miss you, Mandy."_

"… _You too, Grim."_

 _The shot echoed throughout the castle._


	11. Planning the future

**Part 11: Planning the future**

 **Three years after The Fight:**

The first thing that Chi noticed as she woke up that morning was the absence of a certain weight from the bed. Though it was unsurprising to her, she still found it annoying. She'd grown to quite like having someone to sleep next to and thus was partly why she spent so many nights at Castle GrimSkull. Her husband rarely stayed for long enough in her realm for them to do it there.

Deciding to see him before her shower, Chi slipped on her pink bathrobe and walked out of the room.

…

She entered Death's office without knocking. She'd earned that right. Her husband was sitting at his desk filling out paperwork. No doubt taking care of the backlog of requests that piled up every day.

"You need to learn to start sleeping in." Chi said to him.

Junior smiled slighting upon seeing her enter the room. "Sorry, M'dear, but my job requires that I sleep like the dead, meaning when the dead start cropping up, so must I."

Chi circled around his desk until she was behind his chair. She placed her arms down around his neck until her face was next to his and kissed his cheek. Junior raised his hand slightly upwards to hold one of her arms and closed his eyes to allow himself to enjoy her company for a moment before returning to work.

"More of the usual today?" Chi asked as she looked over his shoulder.

"Yeah. Got a couple of people Heaven and Hades want. Got one that's going to the Nightosphere. The rest I still need to round up and find a place for them."

"Yeah, I suppose with the Land of Tainted Souls gone your options aren't as varied as your father's were."

In the three years she'd been married to him, Chi had learned something very interesting about Death that she'd never really been aware of before. Not only was he the collector of souls, but also their distributor. So often he'd receive requests from the other realms, asking him to send this soul here or this soul there, as the rulers of those realms kept tabs on mortals they wanted to join their ranks when they died. It was very rarely that Heaven sent its Angels or Hell sent its demons to personally collect those they wanted. It was usually much less hectic allow Death to do his job and make a request to him. Though technically speaking, Death could decide to send any soul wherever he wanted and there was really nothing anyone could do about it. Chi imagined the only reason Junior and his father even did the requests was because A. it made their job easier and B. it allowed them to save their ultimate authority in their back pocket for the times where they'd need it most. This was the reason why no one could do anything when Grim Senior refused to reap Mandy's soul. Her time had come, meaning he could do whatever he wanted with her without interference. Such as marriage.

A few minutes of silence passed, with the only noise in the room being Junior's quill scratching across the papers. As she continued to hug his neck as she watched him, Chi knew that there were questions in the back off her mind that she'd been avoiding to ask her husband. Deciding it was time to stop hesitating, Chi let go so she could talk to him.

"Grim?"

"Hm?"

"When do I die?" She asked out of nowhere.

"What makes you think you're going to?" He asked without missing a beat, seemingly no surprise to the question.

"Don't give me that." She said as she stared at him. "You and I know better than anyone that everyone dies eventually, even Gods and immortals. There's never been an exception to that rule. Just delays."

Junior turned his body to look at her for a moment. "What brought this on?" He asked her.

"Nothing really…I've just been making plans for the future (always good for a tyrant to have plans) and I just want to know if I'm going to last long enough to go through with them."

"Am I involved in these plans of yours?" Junior asked casually.

Chi smiled slyly at him. "One or two. I'm sure I could find a way to drag you into more trouble if you want."

"Only as long as it's nothing like Budapest again."

"Oh, it wasn't that bad, ya grump."

"You and I remember Budapest very differently." Junior said, clearly still holding a grudge against the government agents who were there with them.

"Anyway…" Chi continued. "Getting back to my question…"

"Chi...You know I can't tell you that." He told her gently. "No one should know in advance when their time is going to come."

"Not even a hint?"

"No." Junior said firmly. "But take it from me, your time limit isn't as big a deal as most people think it is. People have died way later and way sooner than their hourglasses have said they should. The deaths of your father and mine are proof of that. I can't give you a hint of when you're supposed to die, but trust me when I say that as long as you're smart about what you get yourself into, you'll have a good number of eons ahead of you."

Chi leaned against the wall, going through what he just told her.

"And when I do die, will you be there to collect me?" She asked.

"Unless you put me in the ground first."

"Heh." Chi chuckled a little bit, her heart put a little at ease. "That does help, actually. Thank you."

"Of course." Junior said, getting back to his paperwork. "So what exactly are you planning that's got you so worried about your time left?"

Chi waited for a moment before answering. "I want to have a baby."

The sound that followed that statement was a very loud screech as Junior's quill tore suddenly through the paper and across his desk, leaving a long scar along the top.

He was very slow in turning to face his wife again.

"A…a-ba…a baby?" He asked with great surprise. "Why…why do you want one of those?"

Chi crossed her arms as she looked away from him for a moment. "I don't know. I guess I've always kind of wanted to have one. Not with you, of course, until these last couple of years. But…yeah…I just kind of wanted to have one and didn't really see any reason why I shouldn't. I mean we are financially secure and given that Lords and Ladies of the Underworld make their own schedules, it's not like we wouldn't have enough time for it. So I just…yeah…"

Junior thrummed his fingers on his desk quietly, trying to decide what to tell her. After a few minutes, Chi finally moved towards him and sat down in his lap, placing her hands gently across his face and behind his head. "I know it's sudden and a big decision. But I really want to hear what you think. I really want to know if…if you want to start a family with me. It doesn't have to be now, but…someday…maybe?"

Junior could feel the warmth spreading out from his wife and could see in her emerald colored eyes that this was something that was honestly very close to her heart.

"Chi, my beloved queen…"

"…Yes?" She whispered, her lips drawing closer to his.

"…That is a terrible idea."

Everything about Chi's face as she glared at her husband said that she wanted to punch him in the groin before realizing that would be counter-productive to what she wanted.

"Care to clarify those words?" She asked, her eyebrows blazing.

"Chi, when has any child of the Big Five rulers ever had a happy childhood?"

"Me, for starters."

"All right, let's start with you. There were several attempted kidnaps on you, you were spoiled rotten, and you've had everyone you've ever loved brutally killed."

"I hardly think that-"

"-Hunson and Marceline have issues between them I can't begin to understand, my sister died twice, my mother killed my entire family, and I don't think you need any reminders about what Him put Mimi through. I'm not exactly keen on bring a child into a world with that kind of track record."

"I suppose those are some good points." She said. "Here's another: we're the ones in charge now. You and I are the heads of one of the most powerful empires the Underworld has ever known. You really think anyone is going to mess with us or our child?"

"Yes, because there are always going to be people to mess with us, especially with the big target I've basically placed on our kingdom to keep the other realms on their toes. And the easiest way to get to us would be to go through our child, and I'm not going to let that happen. I refuse to drag a kid into all this shit we're involved in."

"Yeah…you said something similar before about why you had Mimi reincarnated."

"Then you know that I'm right. What I didn't want my friend to go through I'm certainly not going to make our kid go through."

Chi folded her arms and was silent for a moment before she continued. "And you think that none of the past rulers have ever had similar dilemmas about having kids?"

"I find it hard to believe most even cared that much. Him certainly didn't. He just used Mimi as a way to stick it to Blossom."

"But what about my father, who made me happy until his dying day? Heck, what about your parents? Everyone wanted a piece of Mandy and looked for any reason to take her down. And yet, even if it meant exposing herself to weakness, she still decided to have you and your sister."

"You're not seriously using my mother as an example of why we should have kids."

"I'm just saying you can't use the excuse that the kid would have a possibly dangerous childhood when that was the same case for our parents and they still found ways to make it work."

"It's a bad idea, Chi. The kid would never get a normal childhood."

"But we can give them a good childhood."

Junior looked down for a just a moment to avoid his wife's eyes. "Chi, the answer is no."

Chi threw her hands up in the air and stormed off, as it was clear their argument was over.

But before she left, she stopped at the door frame and turned to Junior.

"Grim…I want you to think about it. And when you do, I want you to keep one thing in mind: we are not the people who came before us. We are not Mandy or Him. We're the ones in power now and we're not the people who started the war that ruined our lives. You think our child's life would be as tragic as ours? Well that's only true if we let it be that way." She turned and left the room.

Junior leaned far back into his chair. Clearly, he wasn't going to be able to focus on his work at the moment.

He knew he was right, of course. After the life he's had? No way was he going to put a kid in something like that. Not that it was all bad, of course. It was mainly the latter half when things went to shit.

Still, Chi did have a point. Most of the terrible things that had happened were because of those in power when he was a child. With him and few others with the power now, he could make sure history wouldn't repeat itself in his child's life, so maybe…

No. It's out of the question. Things between him and the rest of the council are strained enough as it is. If Death and the Shoguness of Darkness decided to have a child, there's no way things wouldn't get worse. The kid would be one of the most unique creatures in all the Underworld and potentially the most dangerous. A potential part reaper/part shapeshifting demon, though genetically he supposed it'd be part shapeshifting demon/part Nergal, as Junior's Nergal abilities would be the only way they could conceive a child semi-naturally without a donor.

So technically it'd be like Minnie would be the one getting Chi pregnant.

"… _.Ok, that image isn't leaving my brain anytime soon."_

Junior flopped his arms down the sides of his chair. He already knew what the right answer was, so why was he still debating this with himself? It was a bad idea. End of story. He wasn't going to risk putting a child through what Mandy put him through.

Because he didn't want to do to his child what his mother did to him.

Junior blinked at this sudden thought. _"Is that really what I…no. No, I'm not like my mother. That's not it."_

Junior leaned forward in his chair, chin resting against his intertwined fingers.

" _That's not it…"_ He told himself again.

He just sat there for a little while longer.

…

Chi dried her long hair with the bath towel, having just come back to her room from her long and thoroughly enjoyed shower. As she prepared to get dressed before heading down to breakfast (she'd grown quite fond of the spider's cooking in the past few years), she heard a knock on her door.

"Chi?" It was her husband.

"Hm?"

He opened the door just slightly. "May I come in?"

She pretended to think about it for a minute. "…Alright. I suppose."

Junior entered the room and closed the door behind him. Chi went over to her wardrobe to pick out her clothing.

"Chi…I've been thinking more about this baby business." He started.

"And?" She asked as she flicked through the hangers.

"I still think it's a bad idea."

"Yeah, you made that quite clear earlier."

"The reason why I'm here now…" He continued. "Is because I'm feeling…conflicted…about the whole thing."

That caught Chi's attention. "Conflicted?"

Junior nodded. "I know that's a bad idea, and yet I find that I keep trying to talk myself into doing it. Maybe it's one of those "You want it because you know you can't have it" kind of deals. I don't know. What I think will really help me make up my mind on this is…if you tell me…why you want to have a child."

Chi looked at him for a moment, thinking of everything that had led up to this point.

"When I first met you, I hated you." She said. "When I got to know you better, I hated you still. And when you forced me into marrying you, I somehow found ways to hate you even more. But when a time came where I had no one left, you were still there with me, even if it was for your own self-interests. I slowly began to like you. And when you stopped being such an ass, I even started to love you. I wouldn't say we're soulmates of anything. I think we can both agree we lost ours a long time ago. But you did become my family. In these past few years together, you have become someone I care for more than anyone else and with you…I want to create someone else that I will care for as well."

"Just because they're your child doesn't mean that you'll automatically love them." Junior pointed out. "Or them you."

"I know…but I want to try."

The two stood quietly for some time as they both tried to decide what should happen next. Decide what they really want.

Junior slowly lifted his hand, brushing the hair near her cheek. Chi smiled softly as she pressed his hand slightly against her face. The two got closer until the distance between them closed and they kissed. Her robe fell away as Nergal flesh spread from Junior's core across his body. The two fell back into the bed and embraced passionately. The position they found themselves in would have been unthinkable to them both but a few years ago, and the act they sought to commit together even more so.

Junior had often found comfort in the arms of his wife since their first true night together. It held true for this time as well, though his doubts still lingered in the back of his mind.

It would be a very long time until he would learn whether this decision was a blessing or a mistake.

The only thing he would ever know for sure was when it would all start.

A few days later, Death's queen announced she was pregnant.


	12. Stress

**Part 12: Stress**

Junior walked through the halls of Castle Grimskull, flipping through paperwork as he went. After commenting to himself that it's never anyone you want dead that pops up in these things, he noticed something he'd almost missed when he passed by it.

All the doors in the hallway were closed except for the one he stopped in front of, which was slightly ajar. The one door in the hallway that should always be closed. The door to Minnie's room.

Junior packed the papers into his robe as he eyed the door. He summoned his scythe before him and grasped it as he approached, seeing the shadows of movement under the door.

He and Chi had reached an understanding and since there was nothing she wanted from his sister's old room anyway, she promised to leave it be. And Jeff rarely ever disobeyed a direct order. Meaning whoever was within the room now was either a servant who had ignored him or a spy trying to get to him. Either way, he'd have to teach them a lesson.

Junior kicked the door open forcibly to announce himself.

He dropped the scythe in shock.

"M-Minnie?"

The female standing before him turned and smiled. "Hello Junior. It hath been a long time."

Junior had to step forward to see her. To make sure she was really there. The long blond hair. The faded pink ragdoll skin. The absence of her eyes. Junior didn't just see it was her, he could feel it. This was Minnie.

"Minnie…" Junior said again at a severe loss for words. "You were…I thought you were…I saw you die. I saw…I saw you do worse than die."

Minnie walked up to him and placed her hand within his and looked into her former eyes. "Tis true that mine fate wast not a kind one. But not even the beyond of the beyond wast enough to keepeth me from thee, mine love." She let go of his hand and placed her hands on his head. "Long I has't wished to feel the press of thy flesh against mine again. To feel thy warmth spread into me as we engage in the most blissful agony man hath ever discovered. To feel once again thy lips against mine."

Junior's brain went fuzzy and he couldn't think straight the closer her face got to his.

"Minnie, so much has changed since you…I mean…I'm married now, I can't-"

"Shhh…" She said. "It is all right. Let yourself have this."

She got closer. "Minnie, I…" She then kissed him. She tasted just like how he remembered. He could feel the warmth of her soft body on him.

He started to close his eyes, unable to think anymore beyond her and him. He eyed to mirror that sat at his sister's desk, seeing their reflections within.

And seeing his wife in the doorframe behind him.

He went wide-eyed and pushed Minnie away from him. He turned around.

"Chi! I swear, this isn't what it looks like!"

"Really?" She said. She looked at Minnie. "What's taking so long?"

"It would seem mine kin is in too great of confusion ov'r mine return and his commitment to thee." Minnie said.

"Well, I suppose I can't blame him for that."

Junior was noticeably confused. "Wait, why aren't you surprised to see her?" He asked his wife.

Chi walked casually over to the two. "Oh, she arrived here a couple of days ago while you were at work." She said this like it was no big deal. "I'll admit I wasn't exactly thrilled to have my husband's ex-lover show up at our door, but after a bit of time with her I think I began see what you loved about her too."

"…What?" Junior said, kind of stunned.

"After a few days getting to know each other, we wast able to talk things out and work out a most fitting compromise concerning our mutual love for thee." Minnie continued for her.

"Well…there wasn't _that_ much talking." Chi said, smirking and eyeing Minnie's ass.

Minnie giggled. "Thee certainly hath chosen wisely in selecting thy bride, brother."

Junior looked at them both. "…What?"

Minnie then grabbed him by the collar and tossed him into the bed, facing the ceiling. She and Chi then got on top of him. She pinned down his right side while Chi got his left.

"We spent a lot of time trying to decide who had the right to be with you." Chi said. "After all, you did marry me…"

"…And thee didst swear thy heart to me when thee took the second eye from mine skull." Minnie said.

"…So we both have valid cases for being your love…"

"But then we realized: why should we square ov'r thee? Thee art enough king for us both. Surely we could share with no trouble."

"Especially if you'll share us with each other."

"Our great king's own ménage à trois, essentially."

Junior looked at them both. "…What?"

Both women then fully pressed themselves into the Reaper, knocking the air out of him and turning him very red.

"We love thee, brother. Allow us to prove it." Minnie whispered.

"You are ours and we are yours. Forever." Chi whispered. "Now lie back and relax."

Both women began to kiss along his body. They rubbed against him, trying to get under his robe. His head tilted back. He couldn't believe what was happening and barely cared. This was bliss. It was amazing. Wrong, but amazing.

There were so many things wrong with what was happening and it was only after Chi rubbed up against him again that he realized what in particular it was.

"Wait…wait, stop, stop…" He said, surprising both women who backed off a little.

Junior sat up, rubbing his head as he attempted to regain his senses. "Chi…the…the baby…"

"Baby?"

"You've had a baby bump for months." Junior said and pointed at her completely flat stomach. "What happened to it?"

Both women looked at him with worry. "Grim, don't you remember?" His wife asked.

"Remember what?"

She looked rather scared for him. "You changed your mind about having a baby. Remember?"

"What? No, I…we wanted to…"

"We're going to at first but then you said you didn't want to risk the brat trying to overthrow you like you did with your mother. So you tore it out of me."

"What?!" Junior said, his eyes going wide. "No! I would never do th-JESUS!" He yelled as he threw the bloody mass he suddenly found in his hand across the room. It didn't take much thinking to realize what it was.

He tried to get back but was still pinned by the two women. Chi looked at the mess on the floor. "It's a shame. I was really looking forward to becoming a mom. But…" She giggled slightly. "Can I tell you two a secret?"

"Oh, please do." Minnie said eagerly.

Chi looked like she was going to burst if she didn't say it. "…It was actually kind of a turn on when it happened."

"….WHAT?!"

Both ignored him. "Really?" Minnie asked her.

"Ohhh, yes, just that power tearing through me and that domination! OHHH! That slice was like magic! It took care of the kid like that!" She snapped her fingers.

Minnie placed a finger on her cheek as she thought about it. "That does sound rather trilling actually."

"WHAT?!"

Minnie threw herself down onto Junior. "Oh, brother, won't you please do the same to me? Our child would be a mess genetically, but I'm sure it would feel amazing coming out!"

Chi followed suit. "And maybe I could have another go with it? I bet the second time's even better."

"HAVE YOU BOTH LOST YOUR F#%KING MINDS?!"

Junior struggled to get out of the bed but the two women held him down.

"Let go of me! Let go of-mumpf!" His arms were suddenly held down above him and his face was buried in someone's cleavage, though not that of Chi or Minnie.

Junior used all the strength he could and forced himself free, pushing past the women as he leapt off the bed. He turned to see those on the bed: his wife, his sister, and the red-skinned demon girl in the Santa jacket and lobster claws, same age as the other two.

"Mimi?" Junior gasped.

Chi hugged her tightly. "Oh Mimi! I'm so glad you could join us!"

Junior clutched his head. "No…no, she can't be here! Not like that! I reincarnated her! The Devil's essence left her when she died! How can she be…?"

The three got up from the bed and slowly circled around him.

"Brother, you should know better than anyone…" Minnie said.

"… _Once a spawn of evil, always a spawn of evil."_ Mimi signaled.

"It doesn't matter what justifications you come up with…" Chi said.

"…It doesn't matter how far you run…" Minnie said.

"… _Or where you hide…"_ Mimi signaled.

"…how hard you deny it…" Chi said.

"…Or how many people you kill…" Minnie said.

"… _Evil is evil..."_ Mimi signaled

"...No matter what lesser evil it's destroyed before." Chi said.

Junior breathed heavily, watching the three continuously loop around him. "No…no! Get away!" He yelled, trying to push one of them to the side. He then heard an all too familiar SHINK sound.

Junior looked over and saw that the scythe was in his hand. Its blade in Minnie.

She looked at him and smiled. "Like mother, like child." Her body slipped from the bloody blade and fell dead on the floor.

"Minnie!" He rushed to her and heard the SHINK once again. He looked over and the blade found its way to Mimi this time.

" _At least you don't have to keep your promise anymore."_ She signaled before bursting into ashes. The flames lasted only seconds.

"No…" He said just before the final SHINK. He hesitated for the longest time to look. He didn't want to face it.

He turned his head. He saw Chi impaled by the scythe in his hand.

"Chi…I'm so sorry…" He could barely say.

She was slow to respond. "I leave this world…as my father did." Her body melted into a puddle of black goo. It then evaporated until there was nothing left.

Off in the distance, Junior heard a soft deafening boom. He shielded his eyes as bright green light burned through the room.

When he reopened them again, he was alone in a barren wasteland.

Everything was gone. No structure or soul remained. Everything was destroyed.

He had destroyed everything.

A pair of female arms came from behind and hugged him.

"I'm proud of you."

Junior bolted upright in his bed, gasping for breath and in a very cold sweat (or as close to sweat as a skeleton gets). It took him a moment before he could recognize his surroundings. It was dark. It was night. He was in his room, on his bed, his six months pregnant wife sleeping beside him.

" _It was just a dream."_ He sighed in relief. He looked over to his wife and placed his hand on her large stomach. He could feel the movement and life within. The baby was alright.

" _It was just a dream."_ He said to himself again.

Chi stirred under his touch and saw that he was sitting up.

"…Grim?" She asked sleepily. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, Chi. Just a bad dream. Go back to sleep."

Given how tired carrying the baby made her, Chi made no objections and drifted right back off.

Junior sat in the quiet for a little bit, trying to calm himself.

" _It was just a dream."_ He told himself for a third time.

After a little while longer, he quietly got out of bed and left the room.

" _I need some water."_


	13. Fear

**Part 13: Fear**

Junior splashed water from the sink into his face.

" _It. Was. Just. A. Dream."_ He said to his reflection in the bathroom mirror. As his reflection stared back at him he sighed heavily. Calming down wasn't quite working.

Junior leaned forward on the sink and continued looking at his reflection, deciding to stay for a bit longer since he wasn't going back to sleep anytime soon. He commented to himself that it was a good thing he didn't have skin or he'd have huge bags under his eyes and- _"…Wait a minute…"_

Junior looked at the reflection of his eyes in the mirror, but instead of the grey pupils they normally were his eyes were wide and white with the pupils being a black vertical split. Junior had seen this eye type before.

"BILL!"

Junior's reflection smiled at him before bright light burst from the mirror and the triangular dream demon emerged.

"Hey kiddo! How's it going?"

Junior's scythe appeared and he slashed through the mirror and the sink, just barely missing him.

"I'm going to kill you, Cipher!" Junior yelled as he slashed at him again. Bill dodged and floated out of reach.

"Well, actually, you can't kill me, kid. Immortal Dream Demon from a non-physically realm, remember? That's why the council asked for me to be the one to talk to you. Figured you'd off anyone else." Bill said casually.

Junior halted his attack. "The council?"

"Yeah, ever since they found out you and your waifu were going to have a kid they've been sending secret messages to each other trying to decide what to do about the whole thing." Bill paused for a moment. "Well, actually, I don't think I was supposed to tell you that part, but whatever."

Junior lowered the scythe. "And what exactly did the council send you here to tell me?"

"Oh, you know, just some kind of warning telling you to do your job properly and make sure that you don't give your wife and child any special privileges like your father did for your mother and blah blah, something about diplomacy and good will and not wanting whatever pops out of your wife to be immortal. Again, I don't think I was supposed to tell you some of that stuff, but I don't care that much."

"So they've finally worked up the balls to say something to me." The Reaper said. "Took them long enough." He then looked at Bill. "Did they also ask you to mess with my head while I was sleeping?"

"No, that one was all me." Bill said proudly. "Though I'll admit that most of that was just stuff that you had brewing inside you for a while now. All I really did was poke it to see what'd happen. And MAN, do you have some skeletons in your closet or what?! Not so much literally though. You'd think Death would have more dead things in his closet."

Junior stared at him. "How much do you know?"

"Oh, all of it, kid. I found out how your mom killed your dad. I got to see you and your sister's Super Happy Fun Time. There were a couple of boring things in there about friendship and love that I skipped over, but I really liked the part about the half-truth you told the council about your mother's bombs. Nice workaround there, kid!"

Junior tightly clenched his scythe. "So what now? You going to tell the council what I've been up to?"

"What? Are you kidding? No way, I'm on your side, kid!" Bill exclaimed.

Junior eyed the Dream Demon carefully. "Why?"

"Kid, did you even see that last war? Even on my best days I haven't been able to get to the level of mayhem that your mother did and with you gearing up for another one, I can't wait to see what you do in her place!"

"There's not going to be another war." Junior stated.

"Well you're not exactly collecting all those bombs for the market value." Bill pointed out. "Sure, you've halted your plans a little bit because of your incoming baby, but your finger is still hot on the button. You've scared them all into doing nothing and the moment they try anything you're prepared to just take them all out. It's really twisted and dramatic, which is what I've been waiting for! Sounds like a plan your mother would have come up with if she was in your shoes."

"I am NOT like my mother!" Junior yelled.

"That's not what you think..." Bill sang. Junior's grip on the scythe tightened further, which did not go unnoticed by Bill. "Look kid, I'm only saying all this because I want a front row seat for when it all goes down. Eventually someone on the council is going to mess with you because kicking bee's nests is fun and then you'll in turn try to obliterate them all because, even though bees die when they sting people, stinging is fun so who cares?!"

Junior was quiet for a moment before speaking again. "Get out of my house, Bill."

"Alright…but if you ever need help turn the greatest of men insane you know who to call, right?"

"Out!"

Bill finally vanished from the castle (only after saying something about buying gold and then stealing the Reaper's toothbrush). Junior stood in the quiet for a moment before calling up a servant to fix the bathroom while he went back to bed.

…

Junior climbed back into the bed, too tired to see what time it was. He spooned with his wife, who was still fast asleep, and placed his arm gently over her stomach.

" _There's not going to be another war."_ He told himself. After everything he'd gone through, there was no way he'd start one. Especially not if his child would get thrown into it. He wasn't going to do what his mother did.

But Bill did make a point. Eventually someone was going to take a shot at him. Even with the power he had someone, either some small idiot or a bigger fish, was going to test his limits to see if the Reaper was what they feared him to be. And when that time came, what would they do? What would he do?

He felt the baby kick a little.

Junior smiled just for a second. Things were less complicated before Chi and himself had talked him into having a kid. There was actually something he could risk losing now.

" _This was a lot easier before you got me to actually care about you, Chi."_ He thought to himself, his head buried in her neck.

He laid there for the longest time, not trying to sleep or even closing his eyes. He just laid there and thought.

" _No one is going to hurt you two._

" _No one is going to dare mess with me._

" _I'll make sure of it."_

Junior got out of the bed and threw on his robes. He grabbed his scythe and left the room.

Once he was safely out of earshot from his wife, he slashed open a portal and left the castle.

…

It was hours later when the Grim Reaper exited out into the dimension he sought, having made his preparations. Not that time has much meaning here anyway.

The realm Junior entered was one that if you were to guess where you were, your first guess would nearly always be right. The place was unmistakable. The heat from the eternal flames. The stench of brimstone. The endless screams of torture. Death had come to the one place everyone wishes to never go: Hell.

The Reaper walked along the stone path atop the flaming caverns, catching the attention of some of the residences, who stayed clear of him, having heard the tales of what his power. Junior paid them no mind. It didn't matter who saw him here. It only mattered who he'd see at the end.

He kept walking until he reached the center of Hell, where a throne of spikes and skulls sat. The one who sat upon it was not the realm's original ruler. He had been long dispatched by the Bitch Queen. The one who had taken the throne in recent years shared his likeness but had his own history of sin and temptation, mainly involving heroes different from those once found in Megaville, having respected Him's claim to those righteous souls and choosing instead to mess with mutants, Asgardians, and a certain arachnid-themed superhero. The red skinned demon turned his sharpened canine teeth into a smile as soon as he saw the Reaper.

"Well…this is certainly a surprise." The devil known as Mephisto said. "Usually you big shot rulers from the Big Five don't bother to come down here unless you want to blow us up."

Junior looked at the ruler with an unreadable stare. "If there's one thing that you and I both know very well, it's that deals are the only way to get anything done in the Underworld."

"Oh?" The Demon chuckled. "And what could I possibly have that the great and powerful Grim Reaper would be willing to make a deal for?"

"I want the Devil's Essence."


	14. Grim and Evil vs the forces of Hell

**Part 14: Grim and Evil vs. the forces of Hell**

Mephisto's eyes widened by just a little. Still smiling, he asked "Now what makes you think I'd have a little something like that?"

Junior remained unreadable. "You're a powerful demon, no doubt, but you're only all-powerful in your own dimension. You're significantly weaker elsewhere. Not to mention that you were not the only one clamoring for Hell's throne after the war. For you to have bested all those others, you'd need to have "a little something" backing you up. Something like the Devil Essence, the power Him created."

Mephisto picked his teeth. "You've been sticking your fingers in a lot of pies these past few years, haven't you, bone boy? You've known for a while now that I've had the essence."

"I haven't felt the need to point it out to anyone since I don't tend to care about what you mongrels do down here."

"And yet you come to me late into the mortal night asking for it." Mephisto pointed out. "Now why do you want it?"

"I have my reasons."

"Yes, one of those reasons I'm sure being that the pure ancient evil of the essence is one of the few things that can bring harm to a being as powerful as you, as your sister proved I believe. And if it were to fall into the hands of someone who hates you, which is a lot of people, things could go downhill for you quite quickly."

"I have my reasons." Junior stated again. "I'm sure you of all people can understand that."

Mephisto eyed the Reaper carefully. "Yes…I suppose I can. But do tell me one thing, young Reaper, why would I give you the Devil's essence? After all, you yourself pointed out that it's made me the new ruler of Hell. What do you have to offer that could possibly make me want to give that up?"

"You'll find I can be very persuasive when I make deals." Junior said.

Mephisto laughed a little. "Yes, I've heard about some of the deals you've made. I'll admit I'm a little envious I didn't think of a few of them myself. But since I'm the one this time with something that you want, perhaps I should get a say in what you offer me."

Junior said nothing. Mephisto remembered the tales Him used to tell him about the boy's mother, how she always hid herself behind her an unbreaking expression, right up until the moment she struck.

"Now let's see…" The demon pondered out loud. "The scythe? Useful, but too cliché. Information perhaps? Ever since I took over this dump I have found myself wondering where your mother's soul ended up. No one's seen her since her death and if there's anyone who'd know where she got sent, it'd be the Death of her."

Junior didn't change his expression. Mephisto decided to push a little bit more.

"Or maybe I could go with an oldie but goodie and take your first-born. From what I hear that child could grow up to be quite the interesting creature."

Junior finally spoke, but did so still very calmly. "You're not getting my kid. Nor anything else you ask for."

"You're really convinced that you have something I'll gladly give up my claim over the essence for."

"I'm not offering you anything because the essence would be useless in my hands, which is something you already know." Junior stated.

Mephisto raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"I know how the essence got here. When Mimi died it searched out for the source of greatest sin. Minnie was under my protection during that time and it wouldn't dare go after my mother, and with the beating the Land of Tainted Souls was taking, the only place it had left to go was here. It spread out like a virus and made this piece of crap an even bigger piece of crap. That is until you conned and made deals with all the infected until you became its sole holder."

"Nosy, nosy, little Reaper." He jokingly wagged his finger at him. "People won't like you very much if you keep spying on them."

Junior wasn't amused. "That stuff has only gotten worse since it's been here. It's been wallowing in so much sin that if I were to meld with it I wouldn't be able to control myself after very long and just hack, slash, eat, and bang everything in sight. The council would certainly have to take action against me then and, believe it or not, war is something I'm trying to avoid."

Mephisto steamed a little internally over how Junior had seen so far ahead of him as the Reaper continued talking. "Basically, the only people who might not be overtaken too much by that power are demons and sadly, Demon Reapers don't count."

"Then why did you come here?" Mephisto asked, dropping his playful façade. "If you knew you couldn't use it, then why did you come here to make a deal over it? Were you hoping I'd reveal it to you and you could try to destroy it?"

"No, no, no…" Junior shook his head in a condescending manner. "You can't destroy pure evil any more than you can destroy pure good. The universe can't exist without it. Besides, just because I can't use it myself doesn't mean I can't still use it."

Mephisto almost growled in anger at the Reaper, tried to being the one on this side of the game.

"And one more thing, Mephisto," Junior said. "Though I brought up the subject of deals, I never said I was making a deal with you."

Before the demon could question this remark, a series of loud and rapid explosion shook the ground under them, knocking him out of his chair. Getting up and looking behind him, he saw demons from across Hell running from the source of the attack: a fat grey, green, and pink blob flying through the air, blasting everything in sight.

"HAIL TO YOUR DEMON GOD, BITCH!" He yelled as he curved through Hell with the beam erupting from his hands.

"Dumplin?!" Mephisto exclaimed as he watched the destruction the former Majin was causing. "What the here does he think he's doing?! How dare he-!" A realization hit Mephisto and he turned sharply in anger to the Reaper, who smirked at him.

"Like I said, I can be quite persuasive."

Mephisto gritted his teeth in anger. "You've just declared war against Hell, Reaper."

"Me?" He said innocently. "I haven't done anything. I just happened to be taking a walk in another realm because I couldn't sleep, maybe even drop off a batch of freshly reaped souls for you, and it just so happened that I took my walk during the same time our resident Demon God decided to cause trouble in Hell, as all demons are allowed to do if they're powerful enough."

Junior turned the scythe in his hands, toying with the demon. "And in all the confusion, some of Hell's demons thought I was an enemy and attacked me, meaning that I of course had to defend myself. Especially when their leader made the same mistake."

Mephisto saw his reflection in the scythe's blade.

He snapped his fingers and in poofs of black smoke several large armored demons and ogres circled around the Reaper. Junior could barely contain his smile.

The moment Hell's guards attacked, hundreds of soul chains burst forth from the Reaper's body, impaling the monsters and tearing the souls out from their bodies. It didn't take long for Junior consume them.

Junior wiped his mouth with his sleeve. "Tastes a little overdone. Got anymore?"

Suddenly massive stone fingers burst forth from the ground, as a giant creature of lava and stone tried to grab the Reaper. Junior dodged out of the way, remembering Mimi once mentioning a similar creature that Him kept.

The creature lunged forward at the Reaper, but before Junior made a move to defend himself the creature found himself without a head as a bright yellow beam shot straight through it.

Dumplin landed right beside the Reaper. "Hey Grim, how ya doin?" He asked in his gruff voice.

"You sure took your time getting here." Junior pointed out.

"Not everyone has sticks that can tear holes in reality, ya know?"

"Fair enough. You remember our deal?"

"Yeah. Now which one of these guy is Mephisto?"

Junior pointed. "The red guy next to the throne. The one who looks like he's about to wet himself."

"Ok, cause I thought it was one of these other guys."

Junior looked around. While they'd been talking all the residences of Hell had gathered around them. The crowd stretched on for miles with no end in sight. Those Mephisto had sent at Junior before were just meant to momentarily stall him.

Mephisto, having recovered from the shock of the sudden attack, said "It was a pretty ballsy plan, the two of you coming down here. I suppose the two of you together might have been able to overpower me. But the throne of Hell is mine, remember? I control all of Hell's inhabitants. The greatest sinners of all time all bow to my will. Do you think even your powers are enough to take on the wrath of an entire dimension?"

Junior glared at him. "Easily."

The demon smiled at the two. "Let's hope you at least put on a good show." He snapped his fingers. All Hell broke loose and attacked.

Dumplin prepared his fighting pose. "Ya ready, bonehead?!"

Junior's eyes glowed green and a bladed tail burst out from behind him. He twirled the scythe in his hand before grasping it determinedly. **"Ready."**

To call the battle that ensued epic would be an understatement. The Lord of Death and the Demon God tore through waves after waves of Hell's minions. Every move the two made took out entire legions. The scythe cut down row after row while Dumplin's "Pizza Time" discs did the same. The two swam through the oceans of red and green demon blood as more fools attempted to stand in their way.

The entire time, Mephisto stayed seated on his throne, watching the carnage.

"So, uh, is he ever actually going ta join the fight?" Dumplin asked as he put his fist through another demon's skull.

"He's not really a hands-on kind of guy." Junior said, kicking a body off the blade of his scythe. "He's likely pondering how to turn all this in his favor. Which is why we're not letting him leave here alive."

"He doesn't seem all that worried." Dumplin pointed out the demon's smug nature.

"That's because he's not. He's got something else up his-" Something fast and pink struck Junior and sent him flying.

"Junior?!" Dumplin exclaimed before two more unidentified objects, one blue and the other green, struck him and knocked him over.

Junior got to his feet only to be struck again. It was too fast to be seen, but he could feel the presence of three souls dashing around them. Junior spun the scythe in his hand and struck the ground fiercely, creating a bright energy barrier around him and Dumplin. Barrier shot outward and knocked back everything around the two.

When the barrier faded Junior looked over to Mephisto's throne, where three men stood next to the demon. A blond, a brunette, and long-haired red head in a baseball cap. The Reaper knew of these three from the tales he heard growing up. Three of the only mortal beings just as powerful as Megaville's three greatest heroes.

The Rowdyruff Boys.

Mephisto smirked at the Reaper. "I won these boys off Him years ago in a poker game. They're good at maintaining whatever order I want to keep down here, but they tend to get a tad restless. It's been a while since they've been able to get some decent exercise."

"You should have called us sooner." Butch said, cracking his knuckles.

"Yeah." Boomer agreed. "We haven't gotten to have any real fun since we helped you take over this dump."

"Well Hell was feeling a little overcrowded." Mephisto commented. "I felt trimming the fat wouldn't hurt."

"More where they came from." Butch said.

"Indeed. Now then, the Grim Reaper has been kind enough to pay us a visit. I'd like you boys to make him feel right at home."

"Heh heh…you got it boss." Boomer said.

"No." Brick said. "I'll handle the Reaper. You two take care of fatass."

"Who you callin fat, L'oreal?" Dumplin asked.

The other two Rowdyruffs argued with their self-proclaimed leader. "No way!" Butch yelled. "Why do you get to fight him?!"

"Because we can't let them fight together." Brick explained. "The Demon God is physically unmatched in terms of power. That's why he's a Demon _God_ and why the Reaper brought him here to fight with him. You take him out first, we can beat the shit out of bone-bag with no interruption."

The other two thought about it and reluctantly agreed. "Alright, but he better be worth our time." Boomer said.

"I'm gonna dump ya, kid." Dumplin gleefully said in a somehow threatening manner.

Mephisto stood up and placed his hands on the shoulders of Butch and Boomer. "Play nice kids." He said as redness started to spread through the two from where he touched them. Their smiles became wide and sharp and their eyes glowed red as dark power emitted from them.

"Boy this is all kinds of famil-" Dumplin started to say before Butch jump kicked him in the jaw and sent him skywards, Boomer rocketing up to join him. As the Demon God exchanged blows with the two essence fueled transhumans, Junior stared down Mephisto and Brick.

"You know, while it's not a bad plan, it really only works if you can actually kill me or him." Junior pointed out. "Frankly I don't see that happening."

Mephisto patted Brick on the back and the Devil's essence spread through him. "We'll see." Brick said and dove at the Reaper.

Junior had to admit, for as rough and unpolished as the Boys were known to be, Brick used his superior strength and speed with great efficiency. He moved in a perfect zig-zag pattern, dodging the Reaper's chains with ease and striking him hard when he got close enough before zooming away again. Junior felt his bones shatter upon every hit the transhuman landed.

The armies of Hell had long stopped in their attacks and had all gathered around (at a distance of several yards of course) to watch the fighting. Dumplin was faring better than the Reaper, able to roll with the other two's hits and blast back with considerable force. But the two-on-one battle was still causing him some trouble.

Junior spread out his chains again, only to have Brick gather them all together and fling Junior around the battlefield, repeatedly smacking him against the ground. When Junior finally vanished the chains, Brick shot energy beams from his eyes and flattened him into the ground.

"Is this really the best you've got?" Brick mocked as Junior slowly got back up. "I've been beating you senseless for five minutes and you haven't even touched me. How'd someone as pathetic as you take out that bitch of a woman Mandy? Shame Mephisto kept me locked away during the war or I could have just taken her out like that! If someone like you could beat her, then I'd have crushed her!"

Junior picked up the scythe from where it had fallen and cracked his neck back into place. "You done hyping yourself?" He asked, sounding a bit bored.

"Hype?" Brick said, surprised at Junior's attitude. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm one of the most powerful beings in the universe. There's never been any hype with me."

"Oh good, now I get to deal with this." Junior said sarcastically, putting Brick a little off. "Superiority complexes were old hat even back in your day. So what is it? Trying to compensate for the fact that your female counterpart became known as one of the world's greatest heroes while you and your brothers are stuck as Him and Mephisto's eternal bitches?"

He struck a nerve.

Brick slammed into him at the speed of sound, knocking the Reaper through the stalactites of the realm.

"Don't you bring up that bitch with me!" He roared as he punched Junior all around Hell. "She only ever beat me because of that stupid kiss! I've always been better than that bimbo! Better than everyone! Than her, than you, your mother, everyone!"

Brick's skin grew redder as the essence fed his anger and jealousy.

Junior finally was hit back down into the ground, the crowd quickly moving away from where he landed.

"And here I though envy used more of a green col-!" Junior was silenced by the giant slab of rock Brick slammed down into him.

Brick lifted the slab up and down with ease, repeatedly smashing the Reaper while he talked.

"You hear that crowd of demons?! They've all come to watch me crush you! You think Death is a big shot? My brothers and I have come back more times than I can remember, each time stronger than the last! I'm more powerful than you'll ever be!"

The slab finally shattered from the impacts, the rubble falling down around the banged-up Junior. Bricks hands grew bright red and energy exploded forth from them, leveling the entire area in a single blast.

"Compared to you, I'm a f#%king God!"

When the blast ended, the smoke cleared to show Junior lying on the scorched ground. He let out a breath of smoke. "Really?" He asked dryly.

"Really." Brick said, landing in front of the Reaper's head.

"Really?"

"Really."

"Really?"

"Really!"

" **Really?!"** Junior asked as he suddenly bolted upward, severing the transhuman's arm right off at the shoulder with his scythe. It was the second that his blood spurted forth that his brain finally registered what happened.

Brick howled in pain as his remaining arm clasped itself over the opening to keep the blood in. In his pain he glared at the Reaper standing before him and his eyes grew bright red, preparing to fire. But with the claws of his Nergalized hand, Junior slashed at Brick's right eye, forcing him to close both on instinct. In the second it took Brick to reopen his remaining eye, Junior swiped with his scythe and cut off both his legs.

Brick fell to the ground and cried out in pain. Junior towered over him.

" **What's the matter, God boy? You were talking all that good shit a moment ago. Right up to the point where I started cutting your f#%king limbs off."**

Brick threw up his hand to try and blast him, but Junior was faster and casually cut the hand right down the middle. Brick added another scream to the many he'd given already.

His body mutilated, Brick tried to crawl away, unable to concentrate enough to fly. He inched along on the ground, leaving a wide trail of blood.

"Help…me…" He begged the demons of the crowd. None aided him. All were too shocked by the turn in events. "Help me!"

Brick noticed the redness leaving his body, but it wasn't from the blood loss. The Devil's Essence was leaving him, likely to go back to Mephisto.

"No…! I can still…"

" **Would you look at that?"** Junior commented as he advanced on the man he crippled. **"Even your evil booster rocket doesn't think you're worth spending any more time on. That's just how it goes, isn't it? You talk a big game, you bring in the power to back it up, and yet, at the end of the day, the truth is…"**

Junior picked up the remains of Brick and held his head between his hands so that the Rowdyruff could see him eye-to-eye.

"… **I eat punks like you for breakfast."**

Brick's eyes were nothing but terror. "Please…no…!"

Junior opened his mouth wide, showing his teeth, all like rows little green scythes. He ripped out the Rowdyruff's soul the messiest way he could.

Brick's final screams echoed throughout the realm of Hell, instantly catching the attention of the other two flying high in the air fighting Dumplin.

"Brick?" Boomer asked, recognizing his brother's voice. He and Butch had never heard their brother in terror before and without any hesitation left their battle go find him ("Hey! Where ya goin?!" Dumplin yelled to them).

The two landed in the open area the demon's crowded around just as Junior dropped Brick's fleshy remains on the ground.

"Tastes like escargot." Junior commented as he licked his chops. "Who'da thought?"

Butch and Boomer looked in horror at what was left of their brother. "You…you killed him…"

"Did you forget that you're in Hell and already kind of dead?" Junior asked.

The speechlessness of the two ended and they roared in rage. "BASTARD!" they cried, diving at the Reaper at full speed.

Junior inhaled a deep breath and then let loose the Ghostly Wail, one of the first tricks the Demon Reaper had ever learned. A powerful attack and the Rowdyruff's took it head-on. With the essence aiding their invulnerability the worst that happened was that they were knocked back several yards and made it incredibly hard to think clearly.

As they got back to their feet Junior spoke. "If your brother really did act your leader, then I'm sure he's said a couple of those old clichés to you. You know: Don't let your anger blind you. Let your opponent think they have the upper hand. And most important of all, mind your surroundings."

Junior pointed up. The dazed Rowdyruffs looked skywards and saw Dumplin hovering high in the air, placing his hands together to form a triangle.

"ADVANCED GEOMETRY!" cried the Demon God.

The blast hit them (and half the demons surrounding them) before they even realized what happened.

When the dust settled, Junior flew to the bottom of the large, perfectly square crater. There he found the broken bodies of Butch and Boomer.

"Be proud of how strong you are." Junior told them. "Most people would have just been obliterated by a blast like that. You two just have near fatal wounds, ruptured organs, and every single bone in your bodies broken. Take it from me, if you weren't already dead, you'd be pretty close to it right now."

The two tried to utter swears at the Reaper through their broken jaws as the Devil's Essence faded from their bodies.

"If it makes you feel any better…" Junior said, raising his scythe. "You won't have to deal with those injuries for much longer."

…

Dumplin was inspecting the empty throne of Hell when Junior reemerged from the crater.

"Uh, Junior, I think Mephisto ran away."

"Of course he did." Junior said as he landed next to him. "He did just watch us kill half the people who serve him, including three of his most powerful ones."

"Any idea where he went?"

"One. He wasn't prepared to deal with such raw power here, so he'll probably go to the one place he knows we'll lose that advantage if we follow him."

"Where's that?"

"Home."

…

"Well…that certainly could have gone better." Mephisto commented to himself as he sat in his original dimension. It was uncanny how much it looked like Hell and he supposed that occasionally was what bugged him about the place. He'd done quite a lot over the years to make his realm just as feared and powerful as several others, perhaps even more so. But imitations are never quite as good as the real thing, especially when you've actually conquered the real thing.

Mephisto looked at his hands. The battle had shaken him more than expected. Even back in the old days he'd always been prepared for when Norse Gods and superheroes came knocking at his door with a bone to pick with him, but for the Grim Reaper himself to launch an assault out of nowhere…what could the bonehead possibly be thinking?

The demon pondered his next move. If Junior was so quick to strike at him then he must have a plan in place for if Mephisto went to the council and exposed him. Unless of course the Reaper is counting on the sheer power of his empire to keep them out of his way, but that would mean things are even worse than the council feared.

At least for now he had time to plan his next move to counter the Reaper. Mephisto was untouchable in his dimension and a wise ruler like Death would know better than to come here.

A scythe portal then ripped open in front of him.

"… _Or perhaps the Reaper is dumber than he lets on…"_

Junior and Dumplin stepped out of the portal, drops of demon blood speckled throughout their clothing.

"I'm not leaving without the Devil's Essence." Junior said.

"You're either very confident or very stupid." Mephisto responded. "You know that in my own dimension I'm all-powerful and that's not even factoring the Devil's Essence that allowed me to conquer Hell. What makes you want the essence so badly that you'd risk war with me and then follow me here? Are you really that hungry for power? I mean, that I can understand but you're being very vague about it and I'm still trying to figure you out."

"Not really much of a war, since we've killed pretty much all your guys." Dumplin commented.

Junior stared dead at Mephisto. "This is the only chance I'm giving you. No talking. No negotiations. No deals. Just surrender the essence or I will make you suffer a very cruel fate."

Mephisto only worried because, as far as he could tell, Junior wasn't bluffing. He was convinced he'd win.

"I've always been more of a dealer than a fighter. You're not giving me many options here, Junior."

"What's it going to be, Mephisto?"

Mephisto paused to think. And then blasted fire at the Reaper. Junior slipped past the fire with ease and decapitated the demon.

Junior saw the head smile as it hit the ground.

He and Dumplin were then slammed into the ground by the palms of a giant Mephisto that appeared from nowhere.

"If it makes you better, there's rarely anyone who doesn't fall for that." He said as he held them down.

Junior sliced through the hand pinning him and flew up the side of the demon's arm, the scythe cutting through the arm as he went. Junior finally got to the head and slashed upwards through his eye. Mephisto made no cries of pain and instead smiled widely. From his wounds emerged hundreds more Mephistos, all of whom leapt from the giant and piled on Junior.

"Dumplin!" Junior called out through the numerous Mephistos restraining him in the air.

Dumplin finally squeezed himself out of under the giant's palm and place his hands in the triangle position once more, aiming at the floating mass of Junior and the Mephistos.

"ADVANCED GEOMETRY!"

The blast incinerated the multiple Mephistos and left a nice square hole through the giant Mephisto's neck and chest. Junior had used the dogpile as a shield and came out of the blast just a bit singed.

Just as Dumplin was about to fly up and help Junior take out the still moving and smiling giant, a second giant Mephisto erupted from the ground and grabbed Dumplin in his fist. The giant then began to slam the Demon God into the ground and the walls of the dimension.

Junior tried to come to his aid but his path was blocked by a third, normal sized Mephisto that appeared in front of him.

"This is my world, Reaper. You're welcome to stay but you need to follow the rules just like everyone else."

Junior tried to swing at him but Mephisto put his middle finger and thumb up to his forehead.

"First rule…" Mephisto flicked and Junior was knocked straight down into the ground. Mephisto landed in front of him. "…I rule."

Mephisto took Junior's scythe as the Reaper slowly got back up. "Tell you what, Junior. Since I'm such a nice guy, I'll extend the curtesy to you that you refused to extend to me and make you a deal. Swear your eternal loyalty to me and I'll only beat you within an inch of your Afterlife. Refuse, and I'll take everything you have anyway. What do you say?"

Junior glared fiercely at the demon, making his answer clear.

"Willful." Mephisto commented. "Your mother would be proud." And blazed flames from his mouth at the Reaper.

His jaw was then unexpectedly punched shut. It was unexpected because of who punched it.

"Brick?!" Mephisto exclaimed as he saw the pale gassy figure of the redheaded Rowdyruff. He tried to swing the scythe at the spirit but it suddenly flew from his hand and back into Junior's.

Tentacles burst forth from Junior and spread all around him. The tentacles had green lights emanating from them, and from these lights emerged the other two Rowdyruff spirits and hundreds of demon souls. Junior pointed his scythe at the stunned Mephisto. **"Get him."**

All the souls summoned attacked the demon. Mephisto tore through many with ease, though the sheer number allowed for many to assault and grab onto him. "Are you honestly attacking me with souls?" The demon laughed. "I literally deal with souls every day! Especially corrupt ones!"

More souls emerged from the Demon Reaper and attacked Mephisto, including the two giant versions, finally allowing Dumplin to get free. As more and more souls latched onto Mephisto, Junior said **"The Devil's Essence went to Hell because that's where it could find the greatest sin. You only got it all because of your deals and it only choose to stay with you because why not? But you'd be surprised how fickle that stuff can be, especially when its current host is hit with so much sin at once."**

Mephisto realized what Junior's plan was as soon as some of the assaulting souls started turning red. He struggled even harder to get them off.

" **Feel that tugging?"** Junior asked. **"That's the sin of an entire realm calling out to the essence and inviting it to jump ship. I ate them, I control them, and I can make them all remember the worst they've ever done. And the essence likes it."**

Mephisto's great power while in his realm was enough to knock several souls away from him, but the sheer number that kept emerging from Junior and the strain of having the Devil's Essence pulled out of him from different directions was weakening him as more souls turned red and violent.

" **I should thank you for the all-you-can-eat buffet you left me when you ran away. I didn't know how many I'd need or who you made deals with already that wouldn't be able to take in the essence again, so I took them all just to be safe."**

Mephisto's eyes went wide at the Demon Reaper's statement. It wasn't an exaggeration. Junior had killed and eaten every last soul in Hell.

"WHAT ARE YOU?!"

Junior smirked. From his tentacles exploded the millions of Hell souls, all of which swarmed the three Mephistos.

All the souls turned red at once and Mephisto collapsed to his knees from the pain of the essence tearing itself from him.

Soul billions of angry and violent souls stormed through Mephisto's realm, him being too weak to stop any of the damage they were causing. Junior then raised his hand into the air and all the souls then began to get sucked into the space above his palm. Every last one of them was collected and compressed together into a single solid red sphere, no larger than a Rubik's cube. Energy crackled from it as Junior talked.

"In case you were wondering, Mephisto, I didn't bring choose to bring Dumplin just because of his power and status. I brought him because of what he is..."

Junior tossed the sphere over to Dumplin, which he then ate.

"…Hungry." Junior said as he got out of the way.

Wind flew wildly around the Demon God as he glowed violently and the earth shook around him, Dumplin exclaiming "RHEEEEEEEEEEEH!" as his power increased immensely. His hands lit up with incredible energy that begged for release. Dumplin threw his hands in front of him.

"Dumplin's….Last…BLAST!"

The deafening blast lit up the entire realm as it mowed down all the Mephistos and almost literally blew a hole through the dimension itself.

When the blast ended and Dumplin stopped glowing, Junior walked up to his side. When the smoke cleared both could see the remaining normal sized body of Mephisto, nearly cauterized into the ground, but still alive.

"How the hell did he survive that?!" Dumplin exclaimed, a little pissed.

"He is all-powerful here." Junior guessed. "He wants to survive, he'll use every last bit of his power to do so, even if it just barely works."

"You think another blast would do it?"

"I'd say we just do the original plan. He's probably got some of the essence still clinging to his soul. Just absorb him like the rest and we'll be done."

"If we were just going to have me absorb him in the first place then why'd we fight through all that crap? Not that I mind of course, but just sayin."

" _You_ were the one who started the fighting. _I_ told you not to do that." Junior reminded him.

"I didn't like the way Hitler looked at me, what can I say?"

"Just eat the damn demon."

Mephisto coughed in pain. "…Junior….Junior, please wait…" Mephisto begged hoarsely. "We can…we can still make a deal…"

"You have nothing to offer me." Junior said. "Have some dignity in your last few seconds."

"I have information!" Mephisto coughed out. "Information you don't know…information I know that you want …I'm a demon lord…I make it my business to know what people want…"

"I don't care what you have to say." Junior stated. "Dumplin, if you'll do the honors."

"With perverse pleasure." The Demon God said as he strutted up to the demon.

Before Dumplin even touched him, Mephisto yelled out desperately "There were survivors! Your mother's bomb had survivors!"

Dumplin stayed his hand. Junior went quiet for a second. "That's impossible. Nothing could have survived that."

"You did." Mephisto pointed out. "And someone else did too. And I know who it is! Let me live…let me go…and I'll tell you everything I know. I'll tell you who it is and where they've been hiding for all these years."

Junior said nothing for the longest time. Eventually he finally said "Dumplin, what are you waiting for?"

"Honestly, I'm wondering what you'll do." The Demon God responded.

"It's a fool's bargain. He's a demon. He lies."

"I'm not lying." Mephisto insisted. "I'm on my last breaths and I am offering you the one thing that you want most in exchange for my continued existence!"

"Dumplin, do it." Junior said.

"You sure?" He asked.

"If this person survived then maybe your sister did too!" Mephisto cried.

"DO IT!" Junior yelled.

Dumplin looked at Mephisto and shrugged. He then put his hand on Mephisto's forehead. Both glowed bright red and Mephisto and his screams vanished, the energy from where he once was traveling into Dumplin.

"How do you feel?" Junior asked.

"Honestly, after the evil sphere thing he didn't have much to- HOOOOOOOOOOOOOLY CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP!" Pure power and purple light erupted from the Demon God, causing Junior to shield his eyes and shaking the entire realm. When it stopped, Junior back to Dumplin and saw something quite different. The man before him was taller than Dumplin but wider and pitch black in color. He was in a turban and a red sleeveless jacket than exposed his chest. His face was…disturbingly happy. The man's eyes however were the exact same as the Demon God's.

"Dumplin?"

"It's Mr. Popo now, maggot." The man said to him in a voice much smoother than Dumplin's.

"Why?"

"Bitch, cause I said so." He replied simply.

"…Ok." Junior accepted. "You still remember our deal?"

"Yeah, yeah, the other maggots start messing with you, help beat them back into submission. Until then, just make everyone suspect I'm on your side without actually confirming it."

"Not how I would have phrased it but yes."

"And your end of the deal?"

"I'm a man of my word, Mr. Popo. I extend and pass on the title and position to you. You are now the ruler over the Land of Tainted Souls."

Mr. Popo looked around at Mephisto's realm. "I suppose this is as good a place as any to set up shop. Not like he'll be using it anytime soon."

"Now the only Devil's Essence that remains that's not trapped within the eternal abyss that is you is in my wife's sword and that we'll leave be. Something like that could always be useful down the line."

Mr. Popo nodded. "So, now that you've got me on your side, what's next? You going after the Nightosphere? Complete the rest of the collection?"

"No." Junior said. "Hunson Abadeer has nothing to fear from me."

"Really?" Mr. Popo asked, still smiling sadistically. "I doubt it's out of the kindness of your heart considering we just massacred an entire realm to get what you wanted, save for a few choice witnesses."

"We leave Hunson and his realm alone." Junior reinforced.

"Yeah, sure, whatever." Mr. Popo said, not really caring either way. "Welp, now that that's all over, I'm going to find me some bitches. This place could use more bitches."

As Junior was about to leave the man who quite frankly creeped the hell out of him, he paused and turned back to the Demon God. "Mr. Popo?"

"Hm?"

"You wouldn't happen to be able to find out what Mephisto was going to say now that you've absorbed him, would you?"

"No. Doesn't work that way. And I don't think I'll be able to ever get him to talk. He's far too busy with what he's doing now."

"Which is?"

"Screaming."

"…Ok then, see you at the council meeting." Junior said as he quickly turned and left.

 **Junior's really sudden and seemingly out of character actions in this chapter will be explained in the next chapter, so please bear with me.**

 **Also, the line about escargot was a reference to snips and snails and puppy dog tails, which all little transhuman super powered boys are made of.**

 **Also also, I really hope people caught the lines that were inspired/taken from/ripped off from Hellsing Ultimate Abridged.**


	15. Repercussions (not really)

**Part 15:** **Repercussions (not really)**

"So, let's go over this one more time, just to make sure we've got all of our facts straight." Kermit said as he addressed the council.

"Have at it." Junior said.

"On the night in question you couldn't sleep so you decided to get some work done and went to Hell to deliver souls…"

"Yep."

"You stopped to chat with Mephisto…"

"Not such a bad guy once you get to know him."

"And while you were there the Demon God Dumplin just _happened_ to attack and make his bid for Hell's throne…"

"It is a rather cool looking chair."

"During which time you claim you were also attacked by some of Hell's demons and killed your attackers in self-defense…"

"People tend to make bad decisions when they panic."

"…One of whom was Mephisto himself, who you claim tricked you into going to his original realm where you'd be in his power…"

"You think you know a person, right?"

"And when Dumplin saved you from Mephisto, you gave him ownership over the Land of Tainted Souls as a show of gratitude."

"I believe he prefers to be called Mr. Popo now."

"Oh, yes, before we go any further, I've been meaning to ask…what the f*#k happened to him?!"

"Good question. Mr. Popo, the f*#k happened to you?"

All eyes in the room turned to look at the large black genie sitting in the Demon God's seat. "Ate a lot of evil, gained a couple pounds, liked the look and decided to own it."

"It looks good on you."

"Everything looks good on me, maggot."

"If we can get back to the questioning, please." Lord Helix said.

"Right…" Kermit said, a tad nervous. "Junior, I take it you know why we've called this meeting, right?"

"Not particularly, no." Junior said, much to the deliberate annoyance of the other rulers.

"Well, Junior, this event was brought to our attention by a few witnesses who have a story much different than yours." Kermit explained. "They have told us that YOU were the one who instigated the assault on Hell and that you killed and ATE quite a significant number of the souls there. In a very brutal fashion they emphasized."

"Ah yes, the witnesses." Junior said. "Tell me, these witnesses wouldn't happen to be some of the demons from Hell would they? Maybe one or two from Mephisto's realm?"

"The witnesses have stated that they wish to remain anonymous-"

"Tell me something, frog, how many demons have you met from HELL that you would describe as "trustworthy" or "morally sound" enough to the point where you could take their word on something?"

Kermit opened his mouth to say something but stopped and slowly closed it. The other rulers looked around at each other.

"They are demons." Junior continued. "They are liars by nature and occasionally by definition. Heck, the reason you all wanted Sally to be Hell's representative was because she was the guardian of its gates and her sole duty was to keep people in, so she wouldn't be trying to actively cause trouble that would make her job harder."

"Yes, Sally, whom we might add is no longer with us." The Tooth Fairy pointed out, referencing the empty seat next to her.

"Maybe Popo wanted a squirrel skin hat." Hunson commented. Mr. Popo looked like his smile widened by just a little.

"My point being…" Junior continued. "If these witnesses against my story are in fact from Hell or Mephisto's realm, then you have no reason to believe them over me. They exist solely to cause torment, disarray, and sin. If you can think of how those are qualities of a truthful person, I'd certainly love to hear that justification."

"This goes beyond how many you may or may not have slain in Hell, Grim Reaper." Ma-Ti said.

"Such as?" Junior stared him down.

"The Land of Tainted Souls was not a title that was yours to give away!"

"Actually, it was." Junior explained. "While it's understandable why you'd forget, my mother's war was primarily against Him and his realm. In the final days of that war, she won and conquered it, admittedly with a good bit of damage to from that bomb of hers. After I took over I gave back every ream that the rightful rulers asked for, but the one realm that no one asked for was the Land of Tainted Souls. Understandable. Everyone's so busy trying to rebuild their own realms, why would they bother trying to reinstate a long gone realm that has nothing to do with them? So that realm, or at least its title, stayed under my control until I decided what to do with it."

"You should have consulted with us first." Atem said, Chi sitting between him and Junior.

"The past council was going to make Dumplin the ruler anyway if something happened to Him and I saw no reason to disagree." Junior argued. "The Underworld has been out of balance since the destruction of Him's realm. Frankly I'd have thought you all would have happy to have another official realm join our little group."

"Normally yes, Junior, but frankly the circumstances are suspicious." The Tooth Fairy said.

"I wanted another realm available where I could put the souls of the dead because it would make my job easier. What's suspicious about that?"

"Given your history with the other realms you've involved yourself which ended in you conquering them-"

"The City of Aku and the Domain of Death share power." Chi was quick to interrupt. "The _conquest_ of the Ghost Zone was due to Walker's failed coup against me."

"Ah, Lady Chi, I don't believe any of us have asked yet what you think of all this." Hunson pointed out. "Please, tell us if you believe your husband's side of the story."

Chi eyed him carefully. "I was asleep during all this so I of course am not going to have much to offer, but Grim did tell me right away in the morning what had happened and I've never really had any reason to trust Hell, so obviously I'm going to believe him over them."

"She's his wife! Of course she's going to vouch for him!" Ma-Ti pointed out.

"Apparently you didn't see our early days where I would have stabbed him in the back for a shiny penny." Chi commented to him.

"It's true, I tested it." Bill said.

"And regardless of what I think of my husband, what you're accusing him of doesn't make sense logically." Chi stated calmly. "If he was truly the dark and all-powerful conqueror you all think he is, then tell me, why would he leave ANY witnesses to finger him and expose his supposed attack on Hell? Why not just kill and eat all of them and gain all their power? In fact, if he was solely interested in gaining power, then why would he give ownership of an entire realm he controlled to a man who if he doesn't stop staring at my boobs I'm going to stab in the eyes?"

"You can try." Mr. Popo said gleefully.

Chi continued talking as she glared at the majin. "You have two options: you can believe the story that makes sense or you can believe the one told by beings you'd never believe in any other circumstance just because it would support your theory that he's out to get you. And frankly, if the latter was true, then I think you can agree with me on one thing."

Chi slowly looked around the room. "If our empire wanted you dead, then we have killed you all a long time ago."

An audible gulp was heard from most of the rulers.

Junior stood up from his seat. "I think we're done here." The room around him stayed in stunned silence.

He held onto Chi's arms to help her up.

"Grim, I'm pregnant, not disabled. You don't need to help me get out of a chair."

"Oh, hush up and let me be chivalrous."

Chi rolled her eyes and let him help her.

"By the way, Chi…" Junior said in a hushed tone.

"Hm?"

"That was hot."

Chi smiled at him and held his arm as they both left the room.

After a minute, Kermit said "I think this meeting is adjourned." The rulers nodded and one by one, they all left the chamber.

…

Hours later the bonfire of the council chamber relit, revealing the faces of those who've gathered. Hunson Abadeer, Atem, Lord Helix, Doug, the Tooth Fairy, Ma-Ti, and Bill Cipher.

"Thank you all for coming here on such short notice." Ma-Ti said.

"Is it really safe for us to be meeting here of all places?" The Tooth Fairy asked.

"The council of days past met in this location for millenniums for a reason." Lord Helix explained. "This is a completely neutral ground with a great many defenses around it. No one will be able to listen in on us here. Not even the Grim Reaper."

"Which of course brings us to why we're meeting." Ma-Ti pointed out.

Atem sank a bit into his chair. "I can't believe Junior would do something like this. I've known him since he was a child and even with his actions over the past three years, I'd never have believed he was capable of such a thing."

"Though keep in mind we don't have any actual proof that he did anything wrong." Hunson said.

"You believe the boy's claims?" Lord Helix asked.

"Oh, no, not at all. I'm just saying that he made a fairly good case for himself and we have nothing better to go against it."

"He outright attacked another realm and lied to our faces about it!" Ma-Ti exclaimed.

"Which we have no proof of." Hunson pointed out. "Like Junior and his wife said, everything except the witnesses points to that new Mr. Popo fella being the one who killed and absorbed the inhabitants of Hell."

"We should invite that guy to poker night." Bill said to him.

"Ohh, yeah! I bet he has great stories he can tell!"

"Can we please get back on track gentlemen?" The Tooth Fairy asked.

Doug took the floor. "Heaven is not sure how it feels about Hell being hurt. They don't agree with hurting people, but they've never liked Hell so they're undecided. They just keep asking why it happened."

"I suppose that is the big question." Ma-Ti said. "Why did the Reaper just suddenly attack Hell?"

"To scare us, most likely." Lord Helix theorized. "We've been cautious of his empire up until now because of our suspicions of his power. But now he's shown us what he's truly capable of. He massacred a very powerful realm with no provocation and through it gained a very powerful ally that he's placed in a very high up position. Death is more powerful now than ever and I don't know about you but my shell is getting quite full from fear."

"I believe this puts the count at 4 out of 5." Bill commented. "Better watch out, Hunson, he might be coming for you next."

"Ha ha, maybe…"

"But that still doesn't explain why now of all times." The Tooth Fairy said. "Why not after he'd conquered Aku City and the Ghost Zone? Why not when we were all rebuilding? Why not wait until he had a legitimate loophole to go after Hell like he did with the Ghost Zone?"

"You don't think he's found out about our secret meetings, do you?" Doug asked.

"How? No one knows of our meetings and messages other than us." Ma-Ti said. "Did someone here talk?"

Atem looked at him. "You think one of us is a traitor?"

"I never told anyone about these meetings and none of you were supposed to either, meaning that if there was anyone who could tell him about what we've been doing, it would be one of you."

"How dare you suggest something like that?!" The Tooth Fairy exclaimed. "You think any of us want the live under his rule?!"

"I just find it interesting that he launched his attack so soon after we'd just talked about what we should do about his and Chi's child. If he doesn't have some way to spy on us or someone doing it for him, then that's a big coincidence."

"We shouldn't have even been having that conversation to begin with." Atem said. "We have no right to judge the life of a child before it's even born out of fear of what it might do."

"I'd be careful of what you say, Atem. If there is anyone who Junior would want spying for him here, it'd be you." Ma-Ti stated bluntly.

Atem almost stood out of anger. "I have done nothing but try to work with the other realms because Egypt still needs help recovering! If you think for one moment that I'd ever betray those who rely on me for some grab at power…!"

"Boy, no wonder Junior felt safe enough to attack Hell." Bill spoke. "One push in the wrong direction and you all are ready to tear each other limb from limb! Shame my camera doesn't work in here or I'd make a mint!"

The room was quiet for a moment as all the members calmed themselves down.

Helix was the first to speak again. "Despite Bill's…less than elegant way of putting it, he does make a point. We work with each other and respect each other's boundaries, but now that the Reaper has broken that boundary, we don't know if we can trust each other with anything. He has us in fear of his power, he has us in fear that the new lord is in his power, and he has us in fear of each other because we don't know how great his power over us is. He has us trapped in our uncertainty."

It was quiet again until the Tooth Fairy spoke. "So what do we do?"

"Do we try fighting against him?" Doug asked.

"…No." Ma-Ti struggled to say. "It's like he said, we have no proof he was the one who attacked Hell. We attack him, it'll be unprovoked and there's no telling how he could spin that to his advantage. Not to mention how he's likely far more prepared for a war than we are. He took on an entire realm with just himself and the Demon God, I don't want to see what he's capable of with an army at his back."

"What if we were to all unite behind a strong enough realm?" The Tooth Fairy asked. "Hunson, you are the last of the Big Five that the Grim Reaper has not gotten his hands on. Surely there must be a reason for that."

Hunson pondered for a moment. "I can think of one, but it's really just has to do with who I am and it really only protects me and the Nightosphere from Death. Believe me, it's not going to save any of you."

"So that's it then? There's nothing we can do?" The Tooth Fairy asked almost defeated.

"There isn't much we can do." Atem said, reflecting her attitude. "Standing together, we can possibly fight off any attempted invasion of our realms, but an all-out war… Junior has become so different from the child I once knew him as…I don't know what he'll do anymore…and that worries me."

Ma-Ti nodded. "I think…that's the best course of action. We'll continue to aid each other however we can, but until we know for sure if the Reaper is spying on us…or through one of us…it's not safe to hold these meetings any longer."

The rest of the council took a moment, and then nodded in agreement. This was their last secret meeting.

As they all started to leave, Lord Helix looked down sullenly. "One man and one empire in control of everything. It is my worst fear coming to reality."

Atem patted him on the shell. Helix appreciated the sympathy.

Later on, after they'd all left in hopelessness, Bill commented to himself in private.

"Boy…that was easy. Good thing they're all idiots."

…

 **The alternate title for this chapter was "Junior is a dick and Bill is a liar."**


	16. What about Minnie? part 1

**Part 16: What about Minnie? part 1**

 **This chapter will make some people uncomfortable and I will not blame you for feeling that way because it's completely understandable why.**

 ** _Three years before war's end: Five minutes after the death of Mimi:_**

 _Minnie was slowly awakened by the rumbling of the ground beneath her. As her senses focused into the reality around her, a repeated noise became clearer and clearer._

" _WHY?!"_

 _The ground shook again, causing Minnie to bolt upwards. She took notice of her surroundings, a thick snow-covered forest with a dull grey sky._

" _WHY?!" She heard again and the ground shook. She slowly made her way over to the source of the noise. She hid behind a tree as she came across her brother, beating his nergalized fists into the ground, tears streaming down from his face._

" _WHY?!"_

 _(rumble)_

" _WHY?!"_

 _(rumble)_

" _WHHHYYYYY?!"_

 _Junior slammed both fist into the ground, causing the greatest quake yet. Minnie almost fell over but caught herself on the tree's trunk. Unfortunately, she made a small "Oof!" noise as she did so._

 _Junior's head turned sharply in her direction and saw her. His face twisted from grief to pure rage in seconds._

" _YOU!" His body burst forth spikes and blades as he lurched forwards. "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!"_

 _Minnie just barely managed to get out of the way as Junior effortlessly smashed right though the tree. She summersaulted to her feet as Junior turned and dove at her again. She spoke in Nergal and commanded the symbiote to stop. Some of the tentacles turned on Junior and attempted to restrain him, but the Reaper grabbed them and forcibly ripped them out of his body, his feral state unable to register any pain it caused. Using his severed tentacles like a whip, he struck Minnie with them and sent her flying sideways into a tree, nearly knocking it over._

" _YOU KILLED MIMI!"_

 _Junior's fist would have taken Minnie's head off if she hadn't leapt over him at the last second. She back-flipped over him, her Nergalese commanding a green and black rapier to sprout from her brother's back. Minnie pulled it out and immediately jabbed it right back into him._

 _Junior flailed around, trying to get her off him as Minnie continued to jab the blade repeatedly into him, his green blood spurting against her face._

 _Junior finally got her off by having spikes explode forth from his blade, forcing her to get off or get impaled. He was on her as soon as her feet touched the ground, his green scythe intercepted by her rapier at the last second._

" _You and your stupid jealousy!" Junior roared as slashed at her, Minnie doing her best to avoid his attacks. "If you would have just listened to me for one damn second, Mimi would still be alive!"_

" _I care not for what happened to your insignificant pet!" Minnie shouted._

 _Junior roared and struck harder. Minnie fought on but was taken aback by his form. She'd seen him as a Demon Reaper before, but this…with his numerous spiked tentacles and the foaming fangs of his monstrous face…he look so much more beast-like than she'd ever seen him before. He was nothing but rage and killing intent and his form reflected this perfectly._

 _The princess fought the monster that was her brother for several minutes. The sounds of their blades clacking echoed throughout the forest. Minnie was skilled enough to avoid being cut by her brother's scythe, knowing full well a single swing could end her, and deliver several swipes of her blade across his body. But the advantage was still his. His rage and single-mindedness gave him control over his Nergal symbiote that Minnie could not take from him. He healed just as quickly as Minnie injured him and his raw strength whittled away at her weakened state. She even could feel some of the stitches holding her together starting to come undone._

 _The battle finally ended when Minnie thrust her rapier forward and Junior caught it in his hand and crushed it. He swept his other arm sideways and knocked Minnie far back into another thick tree. Before she could even react Junior had sped forward and grabbed her by the throat, pushing her further into the trunk, with his free hand forming a spiked fist, flying straight towards her head._

 _It stopped barely an inch from her face. Her wide eye stared at the trembling fist before her, her brain taking a moment to register that if Junior hadn't stopped, she would have been killed._

 _The trembling was in the hand around Minnie's neck as well._

" _I don't…I don't want to do this, Minnie!" The rage stayed on Junior's face but there was mix now in it of sadness, grief, and regret. "I don't want to fight you. I don't want to kill you! Why won't you just stop?!"_

 _Minnie needed a moment to get the words out of her throat as Junior's grip was still quite tight. "I…will…not…stop."_

" _Why?!"_

" _Because…I…hate…you!"_

 _Some of the sadness in Junior's features were replaced by more rage. "You hate me?! Why?! Because I showed someone other than you some attention?! Because I actually gave a damn about trying to help the person who saved us both from Him?! Is that your reasoning?!"_

" _Don't you stand there is judgement of me!" Minnie yelled. "You're the one who broke his word! You promised to stay with me, but you left with Her as soon as you could, without even so much as a goodbye! I gave you everything I had and you gave nothing back! You used me up and then just threw me to the side like I was nothing!"_

" _That is not what happened and you know it!" Junior yelled back. "I never wanted to take your powers! I never wanted you to end up as a ragdoll! I never wanted to hurt you!"_

" _Liar!" Minnie jabbed him in the neck with the broken rapier that was still in her hand. "I'm tired of you lying to me!" She yelled as she jabbed in and out of his neck. "You used me! You betrayed me! You manipulated me until I had nothing left to give you! I hate you! I hate you!"_

 _The broken blade stayed stuck in the Reaper's neck, his Nergal flesh healing around it. His face showed no pain. The rage that had once etched it was filled with sorrow and the single eye of his that met hers pleaded for understanding. She couldn't take it._

" _I…" Tears started to slide down her face. "How could you just leave?" She asked. "I…I thought you loved me…"_

" _Minnie…"_

" _Please…just tell me…tell me why you didn't take me with you…"_

 _Junior stayed silent until he composed himself enough to speak again. "Oogie Boogie." He answered quietly. "That night in Halloweentown, you came to save me, and he killed you. That image of you, torn apart and crying in pain, begging for someone to make it stop…I can't ever forget it. I remember it every day and can't ever forgive myself for being the reason you went through that. If…if you had gone with me…and that happened to you again…or worse…I think it'd destroy me." Junior took a moment to breathe before he continued, the weight of his words getting to him. "I thought…that if there was anyone who could protect you from that…it'd be mom…and that's why…why I couldn't take you with me. I never want to see you hurt ever again…I never wanted to be the one to hurt you again."_

 _Junior's grip around her neck had been getting increasingly looser and now it had finally slipped off and fell to his side. His spikes, tentacles, and Nergal flesh receded back into himself, showing himself as the skeleton brother Minnie knew. The stream of tears from his eye matched hers._

 _There was a mix of emotions spinning within Minnie, but none of them anger. Lost in the daze of her mind, she closed her watery eye and eye socket and kissed him._

 _And for a few seconds, Junior kissed her back._

 _But the kiss ended, interestingly enough, when Minnie broke it off._

" _I'm…I'm sorry…I shouldn't have done that." She said, her eye looking away from him._

 _Like her, Junior felt a mix of sadness and remorse. "No…we shouldn't have…" They were both physically and emotionally vulnerable. If they were to do anything now…they'd always doubt how much they meant it._

 _They didn't say anything for several minutes. Neither knew quite what to say. Minnie finally broke the silence._

" _We should find shelter. The cold may start to affect us soon if we don't."_

 _Junior nodded. "Alright."_

 _Minnie took a step forward to pick up the broken rapier that'd fallen out of Junior's neck when the Nergal flesh receded, but then her vision became blurry and the world spun around her._

 _She clutched her head in dizziness and her legs wobbled._

" _Junior…!"_

 _Junior ran forward and caught her just as she fell into unconsciousness._

…

 _Minnie slowly opened her eyes as she awoke. From the feel of it she could tell that she was lying on a mat on a very hard floor. As her vision blurred back into focus, she saw she was in a very small darkened room with a single burning candle on the wall to light it. The light outlined the figure of her hooded brother, sitting beside her. His head went up as he heard he shift._

" _You're awake." He said, happiness coming to his face._

 _Minnie slowly sat up and placed her hand on her forehead. "What…what happened?"_

" _You passed out." Junior told her, watching her closely in case it happened again. "All that fighting, especially after getting the essence ripped out, I guess it took a lot out of you."_

" _Thee wast the one who wast stabbed repeatedly, yet thee seemeth the least mangled of the two of us." Minnie pointed out._

" _Well I am the faster healer of the two of us thanks to you, remember?" Junior pointed out, his words holding a slight bit of guilt still it them._

 _Minnie looked at him quietly for a moment. During her years of training she was completely prepared for the Nergal symbiote that gave him his demon powers, but one thing she'd wondered often was how strong would he still be if he was just the Reaper. She'd specially chosen that specific rapier to take into battle with her because it was made of carbonadium. It canceled out accelerated healing. For him to be so unfazed now after the beating she gave him…_

" _Whither art we?" She asked._

" _The temple of the Xiaolin Dragons." Junior said, pointing to the dragon insignia on the wall. "It seems Mimi ported us pretty close to it. Guess she still had monks on the brain…"_

 _The hurt in his eye was very clear, but Junior did his best to try not to show it. Minnie felt it was best not to say anything._

" _I brought you here after you collapsed." Junior continued, getting away from the painful subject. "They took us in and patched us both up a few hours ago."_

" _Do they knoweth who we are?"_

" _Yeah, but that's part of the reason why Mimi, Jeff, and I had been heading here. While all their actual Wudai Warriors are off trying to protect those caught in the crossfire, the monks have opened this place up as a safe haven for anyone trying to escape the war. We figured it be the best place to go to get help where we could also do some good in return."_

" _I doth not mean to dash thy hopes, but I doubt t'will remain safe for much longer. Mother hath madeth a habit during this time of war to turn neutral grounds into fields of bloody combat."_

 _Junior looked downward slightly and nodded his head. "Yeah, well, one of our ideas was to try and prevent that from happening somehow…" Junior looked back at her. "I don't suppose you'd have the authority to talk down anyone from mom's army that'd come knocking around here?"_

 _Minnie shook her head. "Tis unfortunate but no. Like thee, mine actions has't eke madeth me an enemy of our former empire. I hold no power among those folk any longer."_

" _Actions?" Junior asked in curious surprise. "I thought you'd just spent the last few years preparing to tear me apart. What, mom didn't approve or something?"_

" _Actually the lady wast very supportive of mine goals and actively encouraged me in them, even occasionally taking a break from fighting in her war to aid me in mine training."_

"… _Oh." Junior said, a little more disappointed than he meant to. Deep down he supposed he'd hoped that his mother felt at least a little sad that he left and wanted him to come home. Seems that was not to be the case._

" _So what got you on her bad side?" He asked._

 _Minnie was quiet for a moment. "The items in mother's vault art not weapons, not to her anyway. Not even the most powerful of those items, which could lay waste to any number of the countless armies she faces. No. To her, the contents art trophies and thus wherefore they will forever stayeth locked away, even in this time of brutal war. She would nev'r allow me to useth the Devil's Essence…so I stole it from the lady's vault…and fled the castle…"_

 _Junior sat in stunned silence for a few moments to fully process what he'd been told._

" _You stole from mom's vault…"_

 _Minnie nodded slowly._

"… _and are still somehow alive."_

 _Minnie nodded again._

 _Junior paused. "…You can understand why that's probably the most incredible thing I've ever heard, right?" He said with a small, infectious smile._

 _Minnie blushed slightly. "Tis not that impressive, brother."_

" _Minnie, when we were kids I thought she was going to nail my skull to a wall when I accidentally spilled cereal on one of the hall rugs and YOU went and stole something from her." He said, laughing a bit. "Out of the two of us, who'd of thought you'd end up being the naughty one?"_

 _Minnie finally laughed. It wasn't that funny, but over the years, she had not had much to laugh about. No one who'd made her feel well enough to laugh._

 _Minnie's arms then shot straight down to hold her stomach as pain shot through it. It was now that she noticed some of the bandages covering her. Junior stopped laughing almost immediately and got a little closer out of worry._

" _Minnie, are you…"_

" _I'm fine…" She said as the pain died down. "It would seem mine injuries needeth more time to recover than I would normally like to allow."_

 _Junior continued to looked at her bandaged areas, the sorrow coming off him apparent._

 _Minnie looked away from his eye. "Thee saw them, didn't thee?" She asked quietly._

 _Junior nodded slowly and was even slower to respond. "When the monks were patching you up…I saw some of the scars on your body…they were pretty bad. But they weren't caused by any of my or Mimi's attacks and they weren't the right kind that'd be on a ragdoll naturally…"_

 _Minnie couldn't meet his gaze. "I wanted to beest prepared…to beest stout enough to taketh on anything…and mine training reflected this desire. I ordered for nothing to be held back." She explained. "Father was oft seen running out into the training grounds, rushing to pull me back together as I wast just about at his door. …He and General Nergal begged me each day to cease, but I... I refused and pushed harder each time... mine goal the only thing in mind."_

" _You put yourself through all this pain because of me." Junior said quietly. Minnie's heart felt like it was about to shatter._

" _Junior…I…"_

 _Junior stood up. "The monks are outside if you need anything. I'll give you some space."_

 _He turned to leave my Minnie grabbed him by the arm, her eye pleading as she did. "Wait!"_

 _Junior stopped, but he did not turn._

" _Please…don't leave. Just…stay here with me…"_

" _Minnie…"_

" _Not out of love." Minnie said. "Not out of family or duty. But because it is what we both need to truly recover."_

 _Junior turned his head slightly towards her, to show he was listening._

… _For years, I bethought about nothing but the vengeance I would has't upon thee. But seeing thee again, after all these years…it hath brought things to the surface…things I bethought I hadst long since erased from mine heart. …I don't knoweth what I truly want anymore, Junior, but I knoweth that rage is still thither. As tis for thee. Though thee art suppressing it for mine sake, thee boil within. I hath killed perhaps thy only true friend, with mine only justifiable reasoning being jealousy. I has't wronged thee, and deep within, I still cling to the belief that thee wronged me. …If we part now…if we both run away and refuse to listen again…we wilt not recover. …Not wholly."_

 _Junior stayed silent. He did not know what to say._

 _Minnie waited in his silence for a little bit before she spoke again. "if't be true thee doth not wish to…I understand. …But peradventure thee may understandeth this reasoning: I stewed in mine loneliness for years and it hath changed me greatly…and hurt me just as greatly. I tooketh the people that made up thy world from thee. If 't thee leaveth now, thee wilt beest alone. Thee wilt falleth into the same pit I didst, and I cannot claim to care about you…if I just stand by and allow the same fate to befall thee as well."_

 _Still, Junior said nothing._

 _Minnie's lip quivered a bit as she let go of his arm. She looked to the floor._

" _Junior…please…I just…I just wish to make things as they used to be with us…back in that briefest of time before the war…back when things…when we…"_

 _Minnie was startled when Junior sat back down in front of her. Minnie looked at his unsure face with cautious hope._

" _Try…" He said. "I'm willing to try."_

…

 _It was not easy. Neither of them ever thought it would be._

 _Though both were honestly happy to be with the other again, neither Grim Jr nor Minimandy found they were fully ready to deal with the other for the longest time. Though they'd spilled a lot of themselves out to the other during their emotional vulnerability, they both barely exchanged words most of the time, not quite willing to expose anything that might hurt them again._

 _The monks of the temple were an enormous help. They helped sit the siblings down when they were ready and get them to meditate and talk with each other. The sessions didn't have to be long and either could leave whenever they wanted. It was best this way. Little by little the two were able be around each more and extend a little more trust to the other. Though the first few sessions seemed to go nowhere, the ones following always felt like they had some kind of outcome, even if it was just a few more words than usual or a laugh. Though admittedly some of the words exchanged could be rather heated and occasionally it was blows that were exchanged, not words._

 _It took nearly over a year, but eventually the siblings were able to reach the point where they no longer needed the monks to help them along and they felt comfortable being around each other again and even happy to be. They found they could relax with each other and even occasionally play on of the games of their youth (apparently monks are fond of Twister. Who knew?). Things got better._

 _Unfortunately, Minnie's prediction had turned out to be spot on. Almost a year and a half into their stay at the temple, a division of Mandy's forces attacked the temple. Junior and Minnie were strong enough to take on any number of the small-time troops attempting to take down the temple. What they had not been prepared for was the one who'd followed the army to the temple: Dan Phantom._

 _According to Minnie, the relationship the ghost had with their mother was a strange one, where he'd just follow Mandy's armies to random battles if he felt like it to cause some chaos. It was something Mandy allowed him to do so long as the damage he caused to Him's forces was significantly greater than whatever he'd do to her own._

 _Dan was certainly surprised to see the siblings and wasted no time in engaging them as soon as he saw them. Junior's powers had grown over the years and he was able to match the ghost's might. But in the rematch between the Demon Reaper and the Spirit of Destruction, the temple was decimated and the brother and sister fled in the chaos. According to some rumors they heard later, Dan Phantom was scouring the Underworld trying to find them. Popular rumor was he was nursing a grudge against Junior for fending him off twice now._

 _With their safe haven now gone, the two travelled around from realm to realm, doing their best to stay out of the warpaths._

 _And during these travels, something that Junior admitted to himself quite often was that he was glad that Minnie was much smarter than he was, as whenever he lead the way, they found themselves lost. A lot._

 _Like now for instance._

 ** _One year before war's end:_**

 _A scythe portal opened and the brother and sister stepped out into a grey, foggy lake with a single old dock and cabin beside it._

" _Ok…this is definitely not the Mushroom Kingdom." Junior said, eyeing his map in annoyance. "I swear, if this is Crystal Lake again…"_

" _Calm thyself, brother." Minnie said. "This is not a location we've fled to before. …But it is…familiar somehow."_

 _Junior looked up from his map, mainly eyeing the cabin. "Now that you mention it, it does ring a bell."_

 _Not feeling the presence of anything living or dead within the cabin, Junior lead the way as they both entered the creaking shack._

 _It was as decrepit within as it was without. There was nothing really noteworthy in the cabin. Just a small, rusty kitchen and a couple of beds in a back room. They walked along exploring when Junior suddenly felt his boot step on something small._

 _He bent down and picked it up. It was a small fishing lure with a little skull decoration on it._

" _Wait a second…" Junior paused. "Yeah…I do remember this place. This is where dad took us soul fishing that one time."_

 _He handed the lure to Minnie, who eyed it with remembrance filling her eye._

" _Yeah…" Junior continued. "He dragged us out onto that boat at the crack of dawn and kept telling us stories of how he and his buddy Carrion used to come here all the time, until those "dern kids and their spring breaks and fancy phones" came and ruined the place."_

 _Minnie giggled a little bit at his impression. "I doth believeth I recall some of the pictures we took that day. I believeth I hath caught about three lawyers and a bank analyst." She smiled. "Doth thee recall what thee caught, Junior?"_

" _A cold."_

" _Oh…" Minnie said, slightly embarrassed. "…I'm sorry."_

 _Junior smiled to her. "Don't worry about it." Time had long since helped him get over his jealousy (that, and of the two of them he was the only one who could kill a man with a trumpet and that wasn't nothing)._

 _The two entered the bedroom. Junior went over to the furnace._

" _Looks like no one's been here in years. I'd say it's safe to rest here, at least for a little while."_

 _Minnie nodded her head in agreement and Junior tried for several minutes to get a fire going while she sat down on the bed._

 _With his back turned to her, he did not notice the slow change on her face from calm to sadness. Not until he turned around and saw a bit of wetness around her eye._

" _Minnie?" He went over to her. "Minnie, what's wrong?"_

"… _I can't do it anymore…"_

" _What?"_

 _Minnie looked at him. She was close to crying. "Ever since that day, where I gave you my eye, you've known how I've felt about you. That the love I have for you is not the love one sibling feels for another, but the kind one has for someone they feel their soul connect with. The deepest, more personal, kind of love."_

 _Junior sat on the bed next to her. He didn't know what to say and could tell she had more to let out._

" _I know…that I shouldn't feel this way. That it is sick and perverse that I feel this way for you. And I have tried…believe me, I have tried…to not feel this way. I have tried to deny these feeling out of righteousness. I have tried to destroy them with anger and replace them with emptiness. I've even tried to be rid of them because I know it'd be so much easier for us both if they were just gone. …But I can't…they won't go away, Junior."_

 _She looked at him, the stream of tears flowing down her cheek and dripping of her chin._

"… _I love you, Junior. …With all my heart and soul, I love you…and I want to be with you."_

 _Junior had never felt more uncertain of what he should do. He wanted to hold her to him and comfort her, but in doing so, would he make her pain worse?_

" _Minnie…I…"_

" _I know…" Minnie sniffed. "I know that you…sometimes…have felt something similar for me. Or at least I'd like to believe so… The way you look at me sometimes…or the way you'll hold me sometimes…it looks…it feels so similar to how I am around you…but that could just be me wishing for something that I want to be true._

" _But I can't live with that uncertainty anymore, Junior…"_

 _Before Junior could do anything to stop her, Minnie plunged her hand into her left eye._

" _MINNIE!" He screamed in shock._

 _She pulled the eye out cleanly. It must have hurt, but she seemed not to register the pain._

 _She presented the eye to him._

" _The offering of the left eye…" She said. "To the Nergal species, it is a mating ritual. It is a marriage proposal. It is a sign of giving over oneself completely to another. It is a bind closer than any other. The right eye is everything the Nergal has to offer. The left eye is everything the Nergal is to offer."_

 _She placed the eye gently in his hand. "Junior, through this offering of my eye, I offer you my heart and ask you to judge…if it is what you want."_

 _Junior looked at the eye in his palm. He was completely speechless. All the thoughts and emotions spinning around in his head...he had no idea what he could even say._

" _Do not give me your answer now." Minnie said, her eye-sockets still moist from the tears. "Because if you give me your answer now, I'm afraid you will say no, because what I'm asking for is wrong and that is what you know you should do. And even more so, I'm afraid you'll say yes, because I just poured my heart out to you and you'll feel it is what you must do. I don't want you to give me a correct answer, Junior. What I want…what I want is for you to give me your answer...so that I may finally stop being uncertain."_

…

 _Junior sat on the foggy dock, staring into the grey pupal eye. Not once did he find he could ever look away from it._

 _The symbiote stretched a tentacle forward to speak to Junior._

" _Hey…you ok?"_

" _I…" Junior still looked at the eye. "…I don't know…"_

" _Yeah…that was something pretty big she just dropped on ya. I'll tell ya, even back when I was a part of her, I never thought she would have ever offered you even the right eye, much less the left one."_

 _Junior was quiet. "…I don't know what to do…"_

 _The symbiote did his best to comfort him. "Look, everything she was saying about what the left eye signifies, that's all true, meaning this is a pretty big deal. So if you want my opinion-"_

" _No, he doesn't."_

 _Junior and the symbiote both turned to see the astral figure of Nergal Senior standing beside them._

" _This isn't about what you think. This isn't about what I think. And like Minnie herself pointed out, it isn't about what she thinks." He said with his arms crossed. "This is about what Junior thinks."_

" _Nergal…I…" Junior started to say. "I don't know what to tell her."_

 _Nergal sat down on the dock right beside him. "I know it's a big thing, Junior. I knew that the moment I created the process. …Do you remember back when we first met? I told you the reason I created the transfer process of the right eye was because it allowed my generations to carry on with the memories that bind us all closer, like a family. One of the greatest shows of love and friendship of all. Did I ever tell you why giving the left eye was so different?"_

 _Junior looked at him._

" _It's because there are things you can't bring yourself to share, even with family. Things about yourself that you can never share with the people who love you. Things you can only share…with that one person. That one person, who is everything to you, and you everything to them. When I offered my left eye to the person who'd help me create the Nergal species, I knew it was the biggest thing I could ever ask of them. For them to accept me. To see me as I am with nothing blocking their view. To know me beyond my thoughts and feelings and have a line straight to my heart. Despite how corny it sounds, trust me, it's not something you want unless you're sure of it. And that's why Minnie asked you think about it._

" _If you reject the eye and you don't know for sure, then you'll both spend the rest of your lives wondering what could have been. If you accept it and you don't really love her in that way, she'll find out, and she'll hate herself for the rest of her life, feeling like she forced you into it and destroyed both your chances at happiness."_

 _Nergal stood back up. "This is your decision, Junior. Your heart deciding if it feels the same as hers does. Take your time and, for both your sakes, find your answer. Do you love her as she does you? End your uncertainty."_

 _After signaling to the symbiote not to say another word, Nergal vanished. The symbiote retreated back into Junior's body and Junior was left alone, looking into Minnie's heart._

…

 _Minnie still sat on the bed in silence when she heard the cabin door open back up and Junior walk back inside. She waited on the bed and Junior entered back into the room._

" _Minnie…I've made my decision." He said quietly. His face was a disarray of emotion that she could not read._

" _But first…" He said. "I need to ask you something."_

 _She cautiously nodded for him to go ahead._

 _Junior took a breath, as the question was hard for him to ask. "Why do you love me?"_

 _Minnie stared at him in shock. Not because it was just a massive question, but because, honestly, she'd never really asked it to herself. Why did she love her brother?_

 _While it was true the happiest and safest she ever felt was back after the Halloweentown incident, back when they got along, it was also true that she'd developed these feelings long before then. What was it that drew her to him? As hard as she thought about it, she could find no conceivable reason why she was so in love with him._

" _I…I don't know." She said, pain filling her voice._

" _I can't either." Junior said. "And that's why I think it's real."_

 _Minnie looked at him in confusion._

" _Minnie, over the years, you've had every reason to hate me, especially when we were younger. I treated you like crap and took my anger out on you the second I had an excuse, all because I was jealous of you. …But you stayed with me anyway…and you loved me anyway…and thinking back on everything…you were one of the best parts of my life."_

 _If either of her eyes had remained in her skull, Minnie felt that they would be swelling right mow. To hear her brother talking about her like this…_

 _Her heart thumped at his every word._

" _Even though we've both just spent most of our childhoods locked in the castle with only each other, and one could say maybe that's the reason why, we've both had opportunities to be with others and have a normal relationship. But even then, even when traveling around with Mimi and being so close to her…I kept thinking of you. I kept hoping you were all right. That you were safe. That you were happy. And as your brother, of course I should feel that way. But I don't think I thought those things because of that…and I can't explain why._

" _I missed you when we were apart and even though we left on bad terms, I never stopped hoping to see you again…but not because I'm your brother. And I can't explain why."_

 _Junior looked at the eye in his hand, holding it as gently as possible. "All I know…is that you've given me the chance to be closer to you and be your one…and I can't explain why, deep down inside, that makes me happy."_

 _Junior held the eye up._

" _Minnie…I accept."_

 _Junior slid the eye into his open socket._

 _Minnie couldn't believe it had happened. It felt like a dream. It was something she had dreamed before. It was a dream she would do anything to keep it going._

 _The experience was different from how it'd been with the right eye. With the right eye, the dismembered Nergalized bits of his sister had swarmed him and melded with his body. Now, it was something coming out of the back of the eye, fusing itself to him. He fell to one knee in his dizziness._

 _Minnie rushed down to him. "Junior…Junior, are you alright?"_

" _Yeah…yeah, I'm fine, just…not used to seeing out of another physical thing on both sides of my face. That'll take some getting used to."_

 _Minnie helped him back up to his feet. "Do you…do you feel any different?"_

 _Junior checked himself for a minute. "Other than a little extra weight in my skull, no. Not really. Guess one's symbiotic and the other's symbolic (or whatever the hell Nergal called it)."_

 _Minnie just stood there with him, unsure what to do._

" _Junior…what you've done…you can't…you can't know how much it means to…"_

 _She and Junior just looked into each other, neither saying a word. Neither needing to._

 _They got closer and closer until the space between them was gone. Finally._

 _They kissed. As they'd longed wished to._

 _And fell into the bed._

 _There were no more distractions._

 _There were no more enemies to keep them apart._

 _And there were no more doubts._

 _That night, Junior saw Minnie. All of her._

 _And she was beautiful._


	17. What about Minnie? part 2

**Part 17: What about Minnie? part 2**

 _Junior had just come back from hunting in the forest where they'd set up camp. Minnie had set the tent up while he'd been gone and was within it. From her silhouette outline on the side of the tent, Junior could tell she was up to something again._

 _Though their first night together they'd been as close as physically possible, they had been taking it slow after that. Junior had no regrets about his decision but knew that this change in their relationship was a bit weird for them both and time was needed to fully adjust._

 _However, over the past few weeks since then Junior noticed that Minnie was keeping something hidden from him. He didn't know if she'd been hiding it before she'd given him her eye. Perhaps he only noticed now because of it. But every now and then, when he'd leave Minnie alone, he heard the rustling of old papers and the scratching of a quill, along with Minnie occasionally muttering under her breath, as if she was trying to figure something out._

 _Every time he wanted to question her about it, she'd hidden it away in her bag, clearly not wanting him to see whatever it was._

 _For a while, he'd respected this. Just because they were together now didn't me she couldn't have some things to herself. But coming back this time…she did not know he was back yet. She was still at work on whatever it was. If there was ever a time where he'd be able to get an answer, it'd be now. And curiosity won out._

 _Junior quickly pushed himself through the flap of the tent, causing Minnie to quickly turn around and throw her bag over her papers._

" _Junior! Thee gaveth me a more severe fright. Wherefore didst thee not announce thyself?"_

 _Junior saw one of the sheets of paper that had fallen when Minnie panicked. He picked it up as she watched nervously. It was a map. She had not made it but there were some of her notes on it. Junior recognized some of the structures and names on the map. This was a map of the Land of Tainted Souls._

" _Minnie, why do you have this?" He asked with worry._

 _Minnie grabbed the map quickly away from him. "Tis nothing. Tis just…just information I've gathered in our journey. Tis always good to be prepared, just in case."_

" _Minnie…" Junior tapped his finger on his skull. "It doesn't really work to lie to the person who has your left eye in his skull."_

 _It was interesting how Minnie's vacant sockets still showed the emotions like guilt and frustration, though Junior supposed it used to be the same for him._

" _Minnie, what's this really about?"_

 _Minnie took a moment to decide what to say and then sighed, giving in._

" _I had wished not to tell you until I was certain of mine theory."_

" _Tell me what?"_

"… _Thee hast been absent from home for a long time. Thee dost not know of the changes in father's schedule."_

" _Changes?"_

 _Minnie nodded. "People die in war. No one knows that better than Death. But in this war, it hath been more than just those of the mortal plane who've passed. Demons, ghosts, Gods, and more has't met violent ends at the hands of the kingdoms of Him and Grim. Even the oldest of evils such as Aku have left from their plane. And father, he is pulled in all their directions at all times, trying to reap who he can and place whatever is left wherever there is left to go. And thither art many he is unable to collect. One in particular is what I'm hoping for."_

" _Who?"_

" _Thine pe-…thine friend. Mimi."_

 _Junior was stunned for a second. "Mimi? Why would…?"_

 _Minnie removed her bag and showed her brother the other maps, including those of the ruins of Megaville and Limbo._

" _The souls father is unable to collect, those gents wander. Like ghosts, they wilt tend to haunt what hath hadst significant meaning to those folk in life and can beest tracked down to thither. But…there has't been times whither the souls art just taken by those who posses that kind of power. And that is where events go wrong."_

 _Junior looked through the maps. "You think dad was unable to collect Mimi's soul."_

" _Thither is little doubt in mine mind of that. With the amount he must deal with day in and day out, tis unlikely that father wast able to maketh it to that chasm before the lady's soul fully departed. If't mine theory be true, then Mimi's soul is likely still out thither somewhere, trying to revisit the places of events in her life. Unless of course…"_

" _Unless someone found her already and brought her somewhere else." Junior said, eyeing the first map. "Someone like Him."_

" _Aye. Tis wherefore I've been trying to gather information. Anything that would telleth us which realm the lady's soul may now reside in."_

" _Why didn't you tell me you were doing this?"_

" _Because I knew that if 't thee found out, thee would wish to leave for her right away. Thee would has't us reveal ourselves because thee would not allow for the possibility of the lady to suffer any longer."_

 _Junior took a moment. "You're right." He said. "Him made Mimi suffer so much back then and that was when he had her on his side. I can't even imagine what he could be doing to her now if he has her and he'd definitely go after her if he knew she died."_

" _Tither is no guarantee that she is in his realm, brother." Minnie told him. "She very well could beest elsewhere, unharmed and isolated from enemies. Tis wherefore I've been trying to gather information, because tis just a theory and neither of us knoweth for sure whither the lady is."_

 _Junior stared at the map, struggling with what he wanted to do. "Minnie…I…I have to know…"_

" _I know." She said._

" _I'm sorry." He said sincerely. "…but every minute we spend looking for information, Him could be tormenting her endlessly. I can't…I can't take the chance of waiting if she is there…"_

" _I know…tis why I hid my search from you. I did not want you to face this kind of emotional and strategic dilemma."_

 _It was quiet between the two for a few minutes._

" _I'll go to the Land of Tainted Souls." Junior said. "I'll search for her. If she's not there, then we can check Limbo and Megaville and anywhere else she might be. But right now…I can't waste any more time…not if he has her."_

" _I agree." Minnie said. "Which is why I shall come with thee."_

" _Minnie, no, it's too dangerous." He said straightly, trying to dissuade her._

" _I may not has't powers, brother, but I am far from helpless." Minnie talked back. "And this is something I must do, same as thee."_

" _I'm the one who promised to protect her, Minnie."_

" _And I'm the one who killed her." She reminded him. "I wanted to hurt you and in doing so I took her life. You may have since forgiven me for my transgressions against thee, but I have not. I hurt the one I love in my anger and I wish to make amends. You will say that I don't need to…but I do. Reuniting you with your lost friend…the one I once called rival…it will help me forgive myself…at least a little."_

 _Minnie held her arm and didn't look at Junior. She became a little startled when he placed his hand gently on the side of her face. Her left side, she noted. He turned her to look at him._

" _Then let's get going." He said with a smile._

 _Minnie's face brightened. Just a little._

" _I love you."_

" _I love you, too."_

…

 _ **Months before war's end:**_

 _Junior felt like his skin was on fire as he awoke. He tried to look around but saw nothing but blackness. He thought at first that perhaps he was in a dark cave or something, but he could feel light of some sort on his face. He just could not see it. He had been blinded._

 _He tried to stand up but was too weak and fell back over. He could hear the thud he made on the ground, but just barely. His hearing was damaged too._

 _As he sat in his sensory deprivation, Junior pieced together what he last remembered._

 _He and Minnie had been searching through the Land of Tainted Souls, careful not to draw any attention to themselves that would alert Him to their presence. They'd been about to question someone when...when Junior saw a bright green light. A very bright light. It must have been what blinded him because he couldn't remember seeing anything else after it._

 _But he remembered a boom. And that was where his memory stopped until he'd just now woken up._

 _He'd heard rumors that his mother had been building some new super weapon to fight Him with. He supposed a bomb wasn't outside the realm of possibilities of what she'd make._

 _Slowly Junior was able to see some of the light that entered his eyes. It took several more minutes before he could see anything well enough to observe his surroundings. He looked, but he recognized nothing. Everything was blanketed in the white and green ash that fell from the sky. What was not yet covered was severely burned and blackened. He thought he recognized one of the rivers of lava, but that was now just solid stone. Given the amount of rubble throughout the area, Junior guessed that there had been several large structures around him before, which were likely destroyed by the same blast that knocked him out._

 _Looking at his hands he saw that his body was not much better than the earth around him. His bones and Nergal flesh had been severely damaged and his body was trying to heal him, but at a much slower rate than usual. He noted the still blazing green burns on his body, commenting to himself that it was probably a good thing he couldn't feel much right now or he'd be in tremendous pain._

" _What do you think hit us?" He asked his Nergal symbiote._

 _No answer._

" _Dude, you ok?"_

 _No answer still._

 _Junior thought at first that perhaps his hearing still hadn't come all the way back yet But then he noticed something, or at least, the absence of something. Through the years he'd learned how to hone his Reaper powers and eventually discovered he had the ability to sense souls, just like his father. This had come in handy when he and Mimi tried to find and rescue Jeff and for just avoiding enemies in general. But now…he felt nothing. In this realm, a realm of the afterlife, a realm that should be full of wicked and black souls, but souls none the less, it was empty. In this realm and within himself, he was the only one there._

" _Dude?! Nergal?! Anybody?!" His words echoed across the barren wasteland, not wanting to accept what he was feeling._

 _He then realized who else he was not feeling. And his heart sank further._

 _His weakened state could do nothing to stop him from standing up and frantically looking around. She had to be alright. She had to be._

 _Not even a few yards from where he'd awoken, he saw a body crumpled on the ground. Junior ran over to it, praying that they were just unconscious as he'd been and that his powers were just messed up._

 _The body looked like it was made of stone and had been whittled away at, but Junior recognized the lines that etched throughout the body. They were the stich lines that held Minnie's Afterbirth body together, though the strings and wires were long gone, burned away like the area around them. Junior looked into her eye-sockets. They looked so much more empty than he'd ever seen them before._

" _Minnie….please…please get up…" He quietly begged. He held her hand just slightly and it crumpled to dust under his touch. The lump developing in Junior's throat nearly choked him._

" _Minnie, please…I can't…not again, I…!"_

 _Junior was on his knees, unable to stand. Maybe not ever again. This was Minnie's body, no doubt. But Minnie herself…she was long gone from it._

 _Junior held his hand up to her pale face. "Minnie…I love you…please don't…don't leave me…"_

 _The moment his fingers touched her, her face fell in and became nothing but dust, the rest of her body soon following suit._

 _Junior was there. He was alone._

 _Junior clutched the back of his head and held it to his chest, muffling his sobs even though there was no one left to hear them._

 _He then threw his head up and let out every last bit of anguish and rage caused by the cruelty of his fate in one long wail. Any structure still standing cracked and fell, the soot and dust flying away from him until there was a massive circle of barrenness with the Reaper at the center. When the echoes faded, it was silent again, with no noise even coming from Junior this time._

 _For several minutes, he did not even let himself think. It would be far more than he could handle._

 _But eventually a thought did enter his head. A thought that got him back to his feet._

 _He thought of the person who'd built the bomb and ordered its use. The person who was responsible for this whole damn war. The person who'd driven Minnie and him apart in the first place._

 _He thought of Mandy._

 _The Bitch Queen._

 _His mother._

 _The one who took her away from him._


	18. Daughter of Death, son of nightmares

**Part 18: Daughter of Death, son of nightmares**

The Underworld gives way to many strange and unique realms of existence, the one embodying this the most being the realm known as the Nightosphere.

A land of fire and darkness similar to the likes of Hell or the Nether, the Nightosphere remains a realm nearly instantly recognizable at first glance. Whether it be because of the tall creatures cut in half that act as transports, the strange looking demons (even for demons), or the dungeons filled with bananas, everyone recognizes the Nightosphere.

A demonic wasteland as far as the eye can see (with some fairly impressive architecture, to be honest), many secrets and treasures hide throughout the land. So many that you could spent an entire lifetime looking and barely find a fourth of them all. But that's no problem. The realm's ruler is very welcoming to anyone who wants to visit his realm. Getting out is what's impossible. With imprisonment procedures that'd make even the former Ghost Zone warden envious, the realm lives up to its trademark phase: No one leaves the Nightosphere.

It is a phrase the two children who now explore the realm are wise to remember.

Two children, perhaps the most unique creatures in all the realms, though they don't yet know how unique.

The boy leads the way. He knows this realm far better than his friend. He did spend half his life here. The other half he spent wishing he was here, but his mother wanted to make sure he spent time in the human world before he fully made up his mind about following in the family business. This grey-skinned child with pitch-black hair and a happy smile filled with two sharp fangs is Jacob Abadeer, the grandson of Hunson Abadeer and the future heir to the throne of the Nightosphere.

Now why would the future ruler feel the need to sneak around the realm he is to own one day? Other than just because it's kind of fun, the main reason is because of the friend adventuring with him and that she might not get off as easily as he would if they were caught.

His best friend, a young girl, having recently celebrated her tenth birthday, with short strawberry blond hair and a striking similarity to her mother in physical appearance, though with a lack of flames or horns in her design. A young girl with grey colorless eyes, much like her father. A young girl birthed from the union of Grim and Evil. She is Mimi Junior, the daughter of Grim Jr and Chi and the future heir to Death's throne, Aku City's throne, and possibly quite a few other things if the rumors she's heard about her father are true.

And yes, you read correctly. The child's name is Mimi.

Guess whose idea that was.

" _Isn't that a little weird?" Junior asked his wife in the nursery._

 _Chi held their newborn daughter in her arms, cradling her gently. "I was always going to name my first child after Mimi." She stated, having fully committed to the name years before._

" _But what if the kid had been a boy?" Junior asked._

 _Chi looked at him like he was crazy. "Why would she have been?"_

 _Junior just kind of stood there in stunned silence and couldn't help but think he and his daughter had just dodged a bullet._

Basically, it's Mimi for short, Mimi Junior officially, and MJ for the sake of her father's sanity.

"Come on, Mimi! Hurry up." Jacob called to her from the top of a flaming hill.

His friend raced up after him. "Don't tell me to hurry up! You only got up here so fast because you can fly!"

"Come on, Mimi. You know that if you had powers you'd show them off too." He said as he levitated a foot off the ground. A habit he picked up from his mother.

MJ glared at him. "I still have guns in my pack I can shoot you with. Don't need powers for that."

"Point taken." He said, floating down to bring her up.

MJ and Jacob were proof that friendship could come from the most unlikely of places. Their realms and families weren't exactly enemies, at least not like everyone thought they were. It's just that, as MJ had come to understand it, even before she was born people had been placing bets on when her father would add to the Nightosphere to his collection of the Big Five realms. And though the Reaper had not acted against any realms in the last ten years, the threat of his power still loomed and all feared the day he acquires the last realm will be the day Death comes for them.

But that didn't stop Junior and Hunson from being quite civil with each other, nor keep MJ and Jacob from becoming friends during an unbearably boring council meeting they were both dragged to. A couple of immature faces and a few passed notes later, the two became the best of friends, with all of existence to use as their playground.

Like now for instance.

Jacob looked again at his grandfather's map. "Ok, the dungeon should be right underneath this hill."

"It's not going to be another banana pit, is it?"

"Nah. Grandpa doesn't like having too many of those things. Says they make the place smell funny."

The two children looked around the hilltop until they came across a small pile of rocks. After moving the stones aside they found the locked trapdoor that led directly into the hill.

"After you." Jacob said courteously.

MJ did a joking bow and then shot the lock off the door.

The two climbed down the ladder within, taking them into the depths of the Nightosphere.

How far down they went, they could not say exactly, but they were definitely way below sea level. They finally reached the bottom and touched down on a cold stone floor, surrounded on all side by pitch blackness.

"It's so dark in here." MJ squinted. "I can't even see inside my backpack."

"Don't worry. I got this." Jacob said. The young vampire waved his hand and the torches littered throughout the walls of the dungeon lit aflame, lighting the way.

"Ta-da!" Jacob said proudly, as he'd never had a chance to practically use this power before. He looked at MJ, hoping she'd be impressed, only instead to see a look of disappointment.

"Oh…sorry." Jacob said guiltily.

MJ sighed. "No…it's ok." She said, a bit upset. She put her backpack back on and led the way.

Jacob followed her in silence down the narrow halls of the dungeon. Both took notice, not only of how cold it was down here considering how hot the Nightosphere was up top, but also the considerable amount of dust and lack of dead bodies from previous adventurers. It's looked like no one had been down here in years and possibly that no one other than the realm's ruler even knew this place existed.

As MJ checked the directions on her compass, Jacob spoke again.

"Look, Mimi, I really am sorry that I keep-"

"You don't have anything to apologize for." She interrupted. "You shouldn't have to feel bad about using your powers just because I don't have any."

Though she was trying to be reasonable, Jacob could tell she was still upset. "I know. But as long as we've known each other I feel like I've been throwing my powers in your face. You're my best friend, I don't want to make you feel bad."

MJ could tell that he'd deliberately made himself stop floating and stand on the ground with her.

"Jacob, don't stop using your powers because of me." She said, now being the one who felt guilty. "I'm not mad at you, I'm just….frustrated." She put her arms down to her sides and couldn't look at her friend. "My parents are two of the most powerful beings in the entire Underworld so why can't I do anything like they can?! My mom can shapeshift into anything she can imagine and my dad controls life and death itself, so why is my only skill those sharpshooting classes mom made me take?! Why can't I do anything?"

"Maybe you're still growing into them." Jacob reasoned. "I mean, I heard your parents didn't even get their powers until they were about our age. So maybe you just need to wait a little longer."

"But that's what I hate more than anything!" MJ yelled. "As long as I'm powerless everyone thinks they always have to protect me. I'm barely allowed to leave the castle unless my parents or Jeff is with me and I always have guards patrolling around my room. I have to sneak out of my own house just to go on our adventures and I can't even tell them about all the cool things we've done because they'll fuss over the danger and forbid me to go on them ever again! All because they think I'm too weak to take care of myself! Especially dad. Just because mom and I nearly died when I was born he thinks he has constantly keep me out of danger and never let me do anything! Apparently I was too weak to even live right…"

MJ breathed as Jacob just stood there, letting her get it all out.

"…Guess it's my turn to say sorry." MJ said, embarrassed by her outburst.

"Don't be." Jacob said with a friendly smile. "Fellow adventurers, remember? Which means if I can help you by letting you get something off your chest, then I gladly will. That's the adventurer's way!"

"It is?"

"I don't know, maybe. Mom said the official manual on the stuff was destroyed before I was born."

MJ laughed a little bit and punched her friend playfully in the arm. "Still, sorry for blowing up at you."

"No problem. Besides, look at it this way. I may have some cool vampire powers right now and when grandpa passes on the amulet to me I'll be able to transform into some awesome giant monster, but when your powers kick in…man, I bet you'll be way more powerful than either of your folks."

" _ **I certainly hope so or I'll be very disappointed."**_

Both children were startled by the sudden echoing voice. They looked around but couldn't see anyone.

"H-hello?" MJ asked nervously.

" _ **Follow my voice children."**_ The voice echoed. _**"You aren't far from your goal."**_

MJ and Jacob looked at each other, both unsure of what to do. In their adventures they'd come across many strange forces that called out to them, from nightmarish swords meant to tear souls apart to annoying blue fairies that never shut the hell up, but this…this voice filled them both with a sense of unease and made they want to desperately run away. But something about the voice was also seductive. It made them want to go near it, to keep listening to whatever it had to say. After a few minutes of indecision, the children walked on and tried to find the voice's source.

…

After several minutes of following the voice as it whistled a tune for them (a tune they would have recognized as the _Showgirls_ theme if they had any interest in music from before their generation), the two finally came across a wooden door with rusted hinges. They pushed the door open, revealing a wide room lit by two torches. At the end of the room was an iron cell, with sat a single man on a bench, wearing a very thick robe and hood that covered his body completely.

"Hello, children. I'm so glad you could make it."

The two approached the cell but were careful not to get too close to it.

"Who…who are you?" Jacob asked.

"Me? Why, I'm the reason you two have gone on this little quest of yours." The man said gleefully. "Both in that I am the treasure at the end of this dungeon that you seek, and that I am the one who sent you here in the first place."

MJ looked at Jacob confused. "Sent us here?"

Jacob showed he was just as confused. "No one sent us here. I found this map in my grandfather's study. That's all that happened." He said, showing the man the map in his hand.

"Now, my boy, do you really think that old Hunson would just leave a treasure map lying around in his office? No, he puts those in the living world as a way to bring in new residence. That map right there I had an…associate of mine put in his office and also had him plant the idea in your mind to focus on that particular adventure above others."

Jacob was stunned. He racked his brain, trying to remember how he'd come across the map. He wanted to say that the man was lying, but…

"Why would you do that?" MJ asked.

"Well because I've always wanted to meet you two, of course!" The man laughed. "Your families and I go way back, after all, and once I heard about all those little adventures you two scamps have been going on, I figured a little adventure of my own was the best way to get ahold of you." MJ couldn't see under his hood but could almost feel a slimy smile forming under it that made her skin crawl. "Oh, and don't worry, children, this little trip of yours has been worth the effort. Whether you know it or not, you've always wanted to meet me."

"Why's that?" MJ asked, glaring at him cautiously.

"Because everyone wants to know what's up and I'm the guy who knows it. Well, everything that you're interested in knowing anyway." The man said. "Come on…you can't honestly tell me that you're not the least bit interested in knowing those little secrets your parents hide from you. All those juicy little tidbits that could make or break entire nations. Or how about something from the war? I know you kids these days have no interest in history, but you'd be surprised how much from that time has affected you. Go on, ask me anything. Believe me, I have no reason to hold back my answers."

"What's the catch?" She asked.

"No catch whatsoever."

"You don't expect us to believe that, do you?" Jacob finally spoke up. "This is the Underworld, nothing is ever given completely free."

"Let's just say that it's in both of our best interests that you know certain things. But if you're so concerned about consequences, then let me put your little minds at ease and give you my word that I do not seek to make you give me anything of yours, nor anything of anyone else's. Sound good?"

"I don't know…how can we be sure that-"

"Who are you?" MJ interrupted. "Who are you really?"

"Mimi, what're you doing?" Jacob asked her in a hushed tone.

The cloaked man looked at her. "That's your first question?"

MJ stared back at him. "We don't know anything about you. Hell, we can barely even see you down here. For all we know everything you tell us could just be stuff you make up off the top of your head. If we know who you are, who you really are and not just some cryptic bullshit, then we'll at least have a better idea whether to even bother giving you the time of day."

The room was quiet as the two stared back and forth between each other, with Jacob nervously back and forth between them as well. The silence broke when the man started laughing loud as he could.

"You are a smart girl! Guessing that's some of your grandmother poking through because it's definitely not your parents. Very well, I'll show you, and then you'll see exactly why I am indeed the man who knows the answers to all that ails ya."

He removed his hood. The eyes of both children went wide. Though they'd never seen this man before they knew exactly who he was. Every child of the Underworld did. At some point, every parent of the Underworld sits their child down and gives them the same warning. A warning to avoid this particular man at all costs. A warning never to talk with him, never to make deals with him, and to behave themselves, lest they end up in his realm where only the worst of sinners go. A man so foul and horrible that even the bravest souls dare not speak his true name. A man thought long destroyed.

The demon before the two children known simply as HIM.

"So…" He smiled at them. "What's your next question?"

 **Author's note: In case anyone is wondering, no, MJ is not dressed in a Santa jacket and thigh high boots because that is definitely where Junior would draw the line. Interestingly enough, when I first thought of what the character would look like, I imagined that she wore an outfit similar to Minnie's from before she became a ragdoll, though probably with some palette swaps in coloring.**

 **Also I choose the name Jacob for Marceline's son for painfully semi-ironic reasons.**


	19. Sins of the fathers

**Part 19: Sins of the fathers**

MJ grabbed Jacob by the arm and ran with him to try and escape, only to have the door slam in their faces.

"What's your hurry, child?" Him asked. "I go through all the trouble of getting you down here, the least you could do is stay a while."

MJ grabbed the handle and tried to force their way through the door but it wouldn't budge. She pulled out her pistol from her pack and pointed it at the demon's head. "Let us out of here!"

"Mimi…" Jacob tried to get her attention.

"Jacob, do something, he's going to kill us!"

"Kill you?" Him said, sounding almost offended. "Do you think I would have gone through all this trouble just to kill you? I know I've been gone a while but I thought for sure my reputation was significantly better than that."

MJ held her gun up still, but her aim was getting shaky from her fear. She never imagined she'd ever meet someone like Him in her lifetime.

"Mimi, what's wrong with his face?" Jacob finally managed to say, catching her attention. She stopped and looked harder at Him and noticed the green blood that was running down parts of his face, though a tad brighter than any demon blood she'd seen before. She then noticed the boils spread throughout his features, some looking like they were about to burst open.

"What in the-"

"Oh this?" Him said, pointing his claw to his face. "I have a condition, courtesy of your grandmother, little girl, and that bomb she dropped on me. My symptoms are a bit similar to that Ecto-acne disease, only instead of possibly giving me ghost powers in the future, it's simply going to burn away at my flesh and soul until it's gone. The cold down here slows it a bit but it's still painful as all hell. Almost an apt metaphor for her entire life if you think about it."

"So that's it?" MJ said, trying to keep herself brave. "You brought us here so you could get some kind of final revenge on my grandma?"

"In a way, but not like how you're probably thinking."

"Then how?"

Him kept smiling. "Tell me child, did your father ever tell you about the first time we met?"

"No…" She said carefully.

"I didn't think so. Well, let's just say that through a series of dumb luck and bad judgement your father got his sister killed and used her power to become a being of enough power to bring on Armageddon. Oh course I couldn't resist butting in. Your aunt was the key to controlling the creature so I stole her from Heaven. But then your father came for her (long story, don't ask) and I offered him a deal that'd make everyone happy. He could join me, pledge his loyalty to me, and together, we would control the creature and I'd unleash Junior's power to its fullest! Make him the most powerful warrior existence had ever known and together, rule the realms with an iron claw! But, as you've probably guessed, things didn't work out that way." Him's eye twitched a bit in anger. "Your father rejected my offer, got an angel to cut off my hand, and even convinced my own daughter to turn on me, out of COMPASSION of all things! It was this series of events that led to your grandmother and I having our disagreement that led to our war. It's a shame too. I could have made him the most powerful being in the Underworld.

"My father IS the most powerful being in the Underworld." MJ pointed out. "He didn't need your help."

"Ah, but that's the kicker, child." Him's smirk returned. "Do you know how many people your father cared about died in that war? I'll give you a hint. It was all of them. All because he was too weak at the time to save them. If he had joined me, we could have killed Mandy right away and prevented the entire war. He'd have had the entire Underworld at his fingertips and the people he wanted still in it. And I'm hoping you'll learn from his mistakes, dear girl."

Him leaned forward a bit to be closer to the bars of his cell. Jacob stepped forward slightly to get between him and MJ, ready to protect her if need be.

"You see, I'm a man who sees potential, and you've got it in spades. All that power locked away inside you, just waiting for the right person to pop the lock on it."

MJ was silent for a second. "I…I'm not even sure if I have powers. Not even my parents are sure if I do, so why would you know?"

"You're wrong about that, child. You do have power. Great power. And your parents know it full well. They've just blocked you off from it because your father has learned well from his mother's mistakes."

"What do you mean?"

"Tell me, child, what do you know about the war?"

"That you started it by attacking my family. That my grandmother took it too far and hurt a lot of people, and that my father had to stop her."

"Yes, I always found that rather amusing. The entirety of existence gunning for her and the one person who was able to take her down was her own flesh and blood. Very theatrical." He chuckled. "And now…Junior has embraced Mandy's legacy and taken over right where she left off. She must be so proud."

"My grandmother was a monster!" MJ yelled. "I've heard about all the horrible things she's done! My father is not like her!"

"Oh really?" Him gave her the eye. "And what, pray tell, has he done that's made him any different from her? He's conquering realms, just like she did. He crushes all those he deems a threat, just like she did. And when he goes on the warpath, and believe me he will, how do you suppose he'll meet his end? By his own flesh and blood. Just. Like. She did. And he knows it."

MJ tried to block out the words he said but his voice broke down her defenses and got right under her skin, trapping her as he continued.

"Your father has been holding you back, keeping a watchful eye on you all these years to make sure you are never able to tap into your true power. The power that can destroy him. And that's why I'm here."

Him put his arms out in a "ta-da" pose. "I want to unleash your power, MJ. I want to help you become greater than your father could ever hope to be. I want to put you on the top seat of the Underworld!"

"Why would you want to put her in power?" Jacob finally spoke up. "You hate her family."

"Yes, I do, and that's why you can see what I gain from this." Him smirked. "I hate the bitch and every runt she's spawned. Now what better revenge could I possibly get on her than by having someone reject her line in favor of mine and overthrow her heir?"

MJ looked at Him. "You…you want me to join you?"

"I don't have much time left before I expire." He said, pointing again at his condition. "And before I go I want to make sure I have something I can really rub in Mandy's face in whatever realm she wound up that's lower than Hell. I want revenge against her and that's why I want to help you, child. Now what motive could be more pure and simple than that?"

MJ's eyes darted back and forth, her face full of indecisiveness. "I…I have no reason to believe anything you say!"

"But you do, don't you?" Him said softly.

"I…"

"You've heard all the rumors and stories about what he's done. All the people he's struck down, all the weapons and power he's amassed. He's well prepared to fight against all of existence the moment the whim strikes to him, just like his mother. You think you'll be exempt from his wrath? I wouldn't count on it. He learned well from Mandy and she prepared to kill him since the day he was aborted."

MJ pushed her hands over her ears, trying to block him out. She knew that every word the demon said was poison. Lies meant to deceive her and get her to make a foolish decision.

What he was telling her was a lie.

It had to be.

"Trying to ignore me won't change anything." Him said. "Though I suppose you're not the first one who'd rather not think about it. Everyone is scared of what he's capable of and what they know he'll do if no one stands against him. But this also means you'll have allies in this fight, little girl…some more powerful than others…" His gaze shifted to Jacob.

Jacob stuttered a bit in nervousness, not liking having the devil's attention. "Why…why are you looking at me when you say that?"

"Now my dear boy, I did say that I wanted to meet both of you, didn't I?" Him said. "In fact, though your girlfriend is monumentally important in me getting my revenge, I'd like to say that I almost wanted to meet you even more than her, mainly because of a…personal attachment."

"Personal?" Jacob asked.

Him smiled. "Your grandfather and I were old business partners back in the day, my boy. Good old Hunson. If there was ever anyone you needed to call to get shit done or get shit to hit the fan, he was just the right chaotic entity to do it. And when the time came where the Bitch Queen's bomb left me half dead and considerably weakened, Hunson opened up his realm to me and welcomed me with open arms. For a price, of course."

"Price?"

Him nodded. "You see, I'm a devil. I make my living taking things that I want by giving people what I know they want most. Tell me, my boy, do you know what your grandfather desires most?"

Jacob thought about it for a moment. "I…I don't really know."

"Well of course you don't, child. He stopped wanting it when you were born."

MJ and Jacob started slowly putting it together, the conclusion much to their shock.

"What your grandfather desired more than anything else was to have an heir to take over the Nightosphere when he was done. So in exchange for giving me sanctuary here…I gave him you… _my boy_."

MJ's jaw dropped in shock as Jacob's eyes went wide.

"No…" He said. "That…that can't be true…"

"What's wrong, sport?" Him asked. "Did your mother tell you it was that human she used to pal around with? Or maybe that pretty, pink princess? Not bad options I'll admit, but believe me, you've got a much better deal right here."

MJ placed her hand on her friend's shoulder, trying to comfort him as his head slowly lowered to the ground. For as long as she'd known him he wanted to know who his father was. Jacob had always imagined him to be some incredible warrior or adventurer and wanted to live up to that image. To have the reality crush him so cruelly…she wanted to hug him but didn't dare take her eyes off Him.

"Oh, don't look at me like that, girl. If anything it's his mother fault for not telling him sooner." Him jokingly defended, causing her glare to sharpen. "Look, I'm not trying to hurt you kids. I really do want you on my side. Mandy's line will destroy the Underworld, but together, the three of us can save it! Jacob, you are not only Hunson's heir but also the rightful owner of the Land of Tainted Souls! Not Junior and certainly not that Popo fatass. And MJ, you are Aku's granddaughter, birthed by his one and only child. The City of Aku bows to your whim, as will the Ghost Zone. The only true obstacle standing in the way is the Grim Reaper, and with my help, I can get you to realize your potential as the only beings in existence that can destroy Death, once and for all. All those secrets I knew that made me an equal to the bitch queen can be yours. All you need to do is accept my help. To reject the rule of Mandy and her heir and start your own. Be like the son I've always wanted and the daughter I never had."

Him extended a claw out to both of them. The claws were too wide to fit through the bars but they were close enough for the children to reach.

"What do ya say? Do we have a deal?"

The children stared at the open claws for the longest time.


	20. Temptations

**Part 20: Temptations**

Why do people make deals with demons, creatures known for being untrustworthy and manipulative? Why, when every deal in history involving them is purposely designed to go horribly wrong?

The answer is greed, but not always in as bad a way as you'd think.

Desire and longing are the greatest tools of a demon and there are devils who are masters of the craft. They feed their victim's want, saying "Yes, you deserve this, not them." or "This isn't fair. How about we turn it in your favor?" They make their desire feel justified and that there should be no negative consequences for having it fulfilled because, well, why would there be? They're justified in their greed, so why would bad things happened if they're doing nothing wrong?

It is a trap that both those with the blackest of hearts and the purest of intentions fall into. Those who are actually justified in their desire, such as wanting to save a life through the deal, fall for it too because deep down inside, they also believe that because they are doing the right thing, they will be ok.

Sometimes it works out that way.

Most of the time it does not.

Especially not when the dealmaker is as experienced as Him.

He'd been doing this long before even their parents had been born. He knew how people ticked, even them.

He presented them with a deal that looked like a gift. Power, strength, and no consequence. All he wanted was for them to stop a bad man from doing what bad men do. You could say it's more complicated than that, and it is, but that's not what he had the children hear.

He was a devil. He made it his job to know what people desired most and present them with it.

The girl, she grew up in the shadow of her parents her entire life. She felt small and powerless. Unworthy to the legacy she was a part of. He'd told her that he would not give her power, but unleash HER power. Power that she'd always had and that her father, the tallest shadow cast upon her, took away from her. Because it was greater than his. The demon made her father the bad man in her mind. Made her desire to be better than him justified and that whatever she did to reclaim that power was justified because, after all, if it was the bad man who took it away, then getting it back and standing against him must be the right thing to do.

The boy, he had his mother, who loved him. He had his grandfather, who adored him. But he did not have his father. Why? All his life he imagined how amazing his dad must be and all the reasons why he was never there for him growing up. But now his reality is crumbled. He sees the man who is his father, who was close by most of his life, but never able to reach him until now. His mother and grandfather knew his father was here his entire life, but never told him, even though it was something he'd desired just as deeply as the Nightosphere. The demon was not the father the boy had always imagined, but he was his father. And he was offering him the chance to be with him. To let them be father and son, like he always wanted. The demon made his mother the bad guy in his mind. After all, she's the one who'd lied to him and kept him from knowing his true father. Wouldn't it serve her right if he joined the demon and became happier and more powerful alongside him than he ever was with his mother? After all, all he wanted was to be with his father. Why would he ever be punished for that?

They never stood a chance.

His voice had dripped every word into them and now, it raised their hands closer and closer to his.

They belonged to HIM.

Or so he thought.

What it was, she did not know or understand. But as she was about to touch the devil's claw, a brief second of clarity struck and MJ heard a voice in her head. It was not her own. It was not that of anyone she'd ever known. She could barely hear it. Could barely understand it. But she could feel it. It was reaching out to her. It was telling her "No."

MJ snapped back to reality and yanked her hand away from the demon's and slapped Jacob's away as well, an act that shocked them all.

"We can't…we can't do that!" MJ panted and then stated determinedly. "We don't accept your deal!"

Him stared at her with wide, unbelieving eyes. She'd been completely entranced before. What snapped her to her senses?

"You are free to do as you wish, girl, but you can't make this decision for my son!" Him said, saving face.

MJ looked at her friend, her face pleading with him. "Jacob…you can't listen to him."

The young vampire looked back and forth between Him and MJ, his heart feeling very split.

"MJ, I…" He wasn't sure what to do. "He's my dad… I've… I've always wanted to meet him. And now he…he wants to be with me…"

"Jacob, you've heard the stories about what this guy's done. What he's done to his daughter. You can't trust him."

Jacob got a little angry. "Yeah? Well how do we know those aren't lies too? How do we know that our parents haven't just been keeping everything a secret all these years and have told us nothing but lies?!"

"He makes a point there." Him goaded. "You are having trouble trusting your parents now too since I told you they've been denying you your potential. So why are you denying what you both want? If you're looking for proof, I can gladly provide some."

"We can't trust him! Or anything he tells us!" MJ yelled.

"I can't trust my mom anymore or anything she tells me!" Jacob yelled back. "She knew where my father was this entire time and even if he is a bad man, she still could have told me about him!"

"Jacob, I-"

"Give me a reason, Mimi. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't take his offer. He's the only one we know who has to give us the truth if we accept. He's bound by his deals. So give me a reason why I should trust someone who's lied to me my entire life over that."

MJ thought for moment in silence. No answer came to her.

"I thought so."

Jacob reached to shake Him's hand, a smile slowly returning to the demon's face.

But before he finished, MJ said "I can't give any real reason why you should trust your mom or my parents over him…but will you trust me?"

Jacob stopped his hand and looked at her.

MJ continued. "If I'm wrong…will you at least make it so I'm not wrong alone? Will you trust me because you believe in me at least? Because I'm your friend?" MJ extended her hand out to him.

Jacob stared at it for the longest time. It was choice between his father and his friend.

And his daze was broken.

He smiled and nodded to her. "Like you even had to ask." He took her hand and shook it.

"…Wow…" Him said as he sat watching the children. "I think I'm actually going to vomit, which is surprising given that I don't get much to eat down here. What's that called? Bile? Yeah, bile."

The two faced the demon.

"We've rejected your deal, Him. Now let us go." MJ said.

Him scratched his chin with his claw. "Yes, I suppose I have no choice but to. After all, it's not like I can do anything to force you to join me. Nope. Nothing whatsoever. Well…expect maybe that one thing…"

He pretended to ponder.

"Here's a fun little fact for you, children…" Him lifted his claw up and lightly tapped his cell. The bars collapsed to the floor.

"…those bars are just for show."

Before they could blink, Him launched at them, grabbing both faces by the claw and slamming the children into the wall. The sleeves of his robe fell back, revealing his arms to be just as damaged as his face. MJ, gun still in hand, shot the demon point blank. The bullet ripped right through his chest with barely any resistance. Him, however, was completely unfazed.

"Sorry, little girl, but my condition fills me with too much pain to notice even that pea shooter."

Panicking, MJ fired the entire clip of the gun at him until it was empty, begging she'd be able to make him let go. He did not. The fresh holes in his chest bleeding, he held on tightly to the children, smiling the entire time.

"You done?" He asked. MJ chucked the gun at his head, causing it to bounce off comically. "Good. Now, since you won't behave like good little children and do what I want, I'm simply going to have to turn you by force."

"But-!" Jacon stuttered, trying to talk from under the claw. "But you gave us your word!"

"I gave you my word that I wouldn't make you give me anything. I never said anything about just taking it." He said. "Fine print's a bitch, isn't it?"

The two children struggled to get free, but even in his weakened state Him's grip was like a vice.

"Tell you what, children," Him said. "Since I'm going to be taking away your freedom and free will, how about I give you something even better in return?"

Both Jacob and MJ suddenly felt sick and very woozy. They looked over to each other, watching in horror as redness began to spread across the features of their friend.

"Tell me, children, are you familiar with Devil's Essence? No? Well, I suppose it is before your time. Hell, it's before even my time in a way. Evil so pure and corrupting that it can turn even the most innocent and fragile of flowers into the most bloodstained of sinners. And even with that handicap your sister was such a disappointment, my boy. Seems I was right in not giving it all to her. Once she killed her mother it all went downhill from there."

The sickness turned to pain as the souls of the children tried to reject the evil attempting to infect them.

"Still, I've worked miracles before. Let's see what sin we can't drag out of you two."

Tears welled up in MJ's eyes as the essence overwhelmed her. She felt angry and strong, but it hurt so much. Like she was burning up from the inside.

" _Help me…someone…please!"_

And then, the clarity hit her again. And again, the voice spoke.

" _Away from her, demon!"_

MJ could understand the voice this time. It was a woman, but not one she'd ever heard before. The pain from the essence was fading and judging by Him's widening eyes, the essence itself was fading from her.

"How are you-?" He started to ask before the essence burst from her and slammed back into Him, knocking him into the bench of his cell.

His grip on the children was released and they fell to the floor. MJ gasped for breath, needing a moment to recover from what'd just happened.

Him slowly got up from where he'd been knocked down and readjusted his jaw with his claw. "You actually fought off the essence." He said, half amazed and half annoyed. "I'll admit, you might be even more impressive than I first thought. I don't think I've ever met anyone other than myself who could resist that stuff."

Judging by the way he was talking to her, MJ reasoned that he hadn't heard the woman's voice like she did.

"No matter." Him said. "One out of two's not bad."

Realizing what he meant, MJ rushed over to her friend, who was kneeling and bent over on the ground, clutching his stomach in pain.

"Jacob! Jacob, are you alright?!"

"You might not want to stand to close to him, dear." Him said as he sat back down on his bench. "He's about to experience a rather extreme bit of demonic puberty."

MJ stared in horror as her friend's now dark red body convulsed and spasm violently. She heard the snaps as his bones stretched rapidly and watched as giant leathery wings burst out of his back. Fur spread out around his body as his skeleton expanded. What had once been MJ's best friend now stood several feet above her, the shadow of its massive form covering her completely. A blood red bat-like monster with gleaming fangs, glowing red eyes, and two large lobster claws in place of hand.

"You know…" Him said. "I never thought that I would ever say my son has his mother's figure and still be proud, but…"

The hulking beast stared down at MJ, its hot breath blowing her hair back. MJ stared back up at it.

"Ja-Jacob?" She asked desperately. It looked at her quietly for a moment, hesitating.

"Jacob…" Him said, getting the monster's attention. "…sick 'em!"

The beast roared and lunged at the girl.

MJ dodged out of the way but just barely as Jacob crashed right into the way, stunning himself for a moment before going after her again.

"I'll just be sitting right here until you're ready to accept my deal, deary!" Him called out to MJ as she ran from his son.

Jacob grabbed her by the backpack and lifted her up. MJ pulled out a switchblade from the pack and cut the straps, falling back down just before he sank his teeth into it.

He was really trying to kill her.

"Jacob! It's me, Mimi! Don't you recognize me?!"

"Oh, he does, child." Him smirked. "It's a shame you're not as connected to sin as I am or you'd be more understanding towards your friend." He watched as his son swiped his claws at girl. "Let's see what we have here…there's wrath, obviously, both at his mother for keeping me a secret from him all these years, and at you, for always being jealous of his powers. I know he might seem cool and understanding about it usually, but you'd be surprised how much that can build up when you don't let it out enough."

Jacob swiped at her again. MJ dodged and ducked under his legs, making a beeline for the door. She was intercepted by his wing which slapped her to the other side of the room.

"I think I see a bit of lust in there as well." Him continued. "Not surprising. Most boy/girl friendships tend to develop some romantic tension over time. He probably feels so frustrated, wanting to get into your pants but at the same time not wanting to risk losing his only real friend. It's probably even harder for you both now, given you're named after his sister, but if you find that weird then clearly you don't know what kind of family you come from."

MJ got up and weaved and dodged as best she could around the creature. His body was not used to its new changes and his movements were sluggish. The instability the Devil's Essence put him in certainly didn't help either. She got around him and picked up one of the iron bars that had once made up Him's cell. As the monster dove at her she swung with all her might and smacked his face to the side. It stunned him for moment out of surprise, then went right back after her.

"And then there's an oldie but goodie, gluttony." Him finished. "I'm sure the boy has a similar diet to his mother's but I'm sure we can find a way for him to keep you down."

MJ swung to keep the monster away from her and got one more hit in before Jacob swung his arm and knocked MJ to the wall. He dove at her and MJ threw the bar up to defend herself, catching his teeth with it as he tried to bite down at her. His mouth gashed away at the bar like a wild dog, trying to get closer to her. MJ was using all her strength just to keep it half a foot away from her flesh.

The monster finally bit down on the bar and lifted himself up, yanking it from her hands. He spat it over to the other side of the room.

MJ was on the ground with nowhere left to go. The beast that was once her best friend towering over her.

His head struck down at her.

" _Please…no…!"_

Instinct guided her final plea.

"DAAAAAAD!"

The ground before her exploded. Whether it came from above or below was unclear, but where the ground had shattered open was the sudden figure that stood between the monster and its prey. In the second it had happened MJ heard the familiar flapping of the robe's fabric and saw the bright sheen of the torchlights off the powerful blade.

Grim Jr, the Grim Reaper. Her father.

The monster roared at its new enemy and attacked him fangs first.

It stood no chance.

The Reaper grabbed the monster by the throat, stopping and silencing it instantly.

" **Get out."** His voice echoed.

His eyes glowed green and the Devil's Essence exploded off the child's body, screaming, and taking the monstrous form with it, leaving the small grey child in Death's hand.

Junior let go of Jacob's neck and let him fall to the ground. The child was hurt and gasping, but he was alive.

MJ stared up in shock at her father, but he did not look back at her. His eyes stayed directly locked onto the demon sitting in the broken cell.

"So," Junior said. "You did survive."

The smile on the devil's face stayed wide.


	21. HIM and Grim

**Part 21: HIM and Grim**

The daughter of Death laid shaking on the ground, looking upwards to her father. Everything had happened so quickly. Her body was still in shock, her brain needing a moment to process that she was still alive.

"D-dad?"

Junior didn't look back at her, keeping his eyes on HIM. "Are you alright, MJ?"

She was slow to respond. "Ye-yeah. I…I think so."

"Good, because when we get home you're grounded like a rubber lightning rod for sneaking out." His voice wasn't angry or joking. He was what he knew she needed him to be right now: Strong.

A minute passed and MJ slowly wobbled to her feet. She ran over to her father and grabbed onto him, clutching tightly to his leg as she buried her face in his robe, hiding the tears that pushed themselves out of her eyes. She was trembling.

Junior placed his hand on her back to comfort her and hold her close.

Jacob stirred and got up, his hand over his head as he got used to his body's soreness. "Mr…Mr. Reaper?"

"Hello, Jacob. How's your mother?" Junior asked casually.

"She's…she's fine." He answered. "She's got a concert lined up next month in Anti-Fairy World."

"I wonder if Chi would like to go to that…" Junior pondered for a minute. "Been a while since we last went out…"

HIM was getting impatient. "Are you ignoring me?"

"Yes. Now Jacob, when is that concert scheduled for? I want to make sure I don't already have anything planned before I bring it up with her."

HIM's eye twitched a little. "You know, I ruined a good chunk of you and your family's lives and did so out my own pocket. The least you could do is say hi."

Junior stared at the demon. "Well, I suppose I should. After all, seeing you again is kind of a relief."

"Relief?"

"Yeah. When Mephisto said someone survived the bomb I was afraid it was someone important. So thanks for setting me at ease."

"Ohh! Is this the part where we exchange witty banter?" HIM chuckled. "Shame you got here when you did. If you'd arrived a minute later, I'm sure my son would have made your daughter look plenty hilarious enough to qualify."

MJ clutched her father a little tighter and Jacob's head sloped down in shame of what he'd almost done.

"Jacob, get behind me." Junior said, snapping the boy back up. Jacob looked up at the tall skeleton, surprised at this offer of protection.

"R-really?"

"Now, Jacob." Junior reinforced. Jacob stopped hesitating and ran behind him. MJ took a quick glimpse of him before hiding her face back into her father's robe.

"You're being awfully nice to the person who was just trying to eat your kid." HIM commented. "Though I suppose you don't have much other choice. After all, you and I know full well why I wanted someone from Hunson's line to bear my child."

Jacob looked down a little in shame again, which did not go unnoticed by Junior.

"I've met Marceline a few times, Kare." Junior said. "I wouldn't say we're good friends or anything, but I know her well enough to know that you're not her type."

"One could make the argument that with my natural red hue I'm exactly her type." He commented.

"Maybe back when you didn't look like an expired tomato." Junior said. "But even then I doubt she'd have ever willingly let you get that close."

"They said the same thing about Blossom back in the day." HIM pointed out. Junior glared at him. "Heh. But you're right. Even when she was younger Marceline never liked me. Sure, I was evil like her father but I suppose children tend to make distinctions between evil for the sake of chaos and evil for the sake of evil and I guess being raised by Hunson caused her to favor the former. Even years later there was no way she'd ever agree to have my child…

Him started showing more teeth in his smile. "…Unless, of course, I used an old tried and true method. The same one you used to force your wife into marrying you I believe."

"What?" MJ looked up at her father. He said nothing.

"I made a deal with her. And Junior? I have you to thank for that."

Junior grimaced internally.

"Though Marcy and her dear old dad have issues, she's a good girl who would do anything to protect him. So when you started taking over realms and it looked like Hunson and his realm were next on the chopping block, when I asked her to bear my child, she agreed to do it on one condition: that I do everything in my power to protect him from you." HIM chuckled a bit more. "Shame that in her time of fear for her father she didn't realize how safe from you he already is, but I didn't see the need to tell her that. And so, the deal was made.

"Congratulations, Junior, you now have another name you can add to the list of people whose lives you've ruined. You can put her down right after Minnie, Mimi, and Chi." HIM scrolled mentally through the list. "You're not very kind to the women in your life, are you?"

"Bring your neck a little closer. Maybe I can even out the ratio." Junior said.

"Ohh, good one."

Junior glanced over to Jacob, who was standing close behind him, though doing his best not to get too close to MJ, fearing what HIM might cause him to do again.

"So you forced Marceline to give you a child just like you did with Blossom, all just so you'd have someone to carry on your stupid war with my family. I get that. But why offer MJ a deal too? Why risk getting my attention? Like you did."

"Well…tradition, for starters." HIM casually picked his nose. 'I mean, I kidnapped Mandy's daughter. Might as well kidnap yours. See if we can get a thing going."

Junior's stare was of half-closed eyes, showing his non-amusement in great detail.

"But mainly I figured it'd be a good idea to hedge my bets." He continued. "I mean, have you seen the timeline of your family? It's almost like watching an implosion. Seems like the only time anyone in your family ever stays dead is when another member takes them out! Well…except for the ones I got." He said smugly. "I'd like to think your mother got the idea for that E-bomb after I caused her miscarriage. Low, I know, but honestly, did anyone really want Dan Phantom's brats running around?"

"Still mad that my mother wouldn't let you into her pants, Kare?"

"Laugh it up, Junior. I imagine you'd have been just as big a whore as her if our war had left you with any good women after it. Instead you're just stuck with the carpet-munching weeaboo. Though I suppose she did have a thing for my daughter, so it's not like you had to worry about high standards with her."

Junior scowled, causing HIM to start giggling. "Ooh, there's that scary face your mother was so well known for! On you it looks adorable! Like a little boy trying to fill his mother's panties. Speaking of which, where did you send the bitch off to? Super Hell? The void of infinite sorrows? Or do you keep her chained up in one of the castle dungeons for the nights where the wife just can't satisfy you?"

Junior was silent for a moment before lifting his hand up and pointing at Him. HIM looked at it in confusion before green energy blasted from the Reaper's finger and cut through the demon's left arm. It didn't faze him in the least as it fell to the ground and his green irradiated blood started to drip, some making a small hiss when they hit the cold floor.

"That bomb really did a number on you." Junior said.

"Yeah. Thankfully most of my nerves went dead on the spot. All I can really feel now is the burning. Again, almost an apt metaphor for your mother's life."

"Are whore and bitch the only two words you know when describing my mother?"

"You kids still use strumpet these days?"

"No."

"Damn."

Junior felt a tug on his robe. He looked down at his daughter.

"Dad, can we please leave?" She begged. She was shaking badly and her eyes reflected her fear of the demon as she pleaded. "…Please?"

Junior took a second but made his decision easily. She'd been through enough.

"Jacob, come on. We're leaving."

"Y-yes sir." The young demon vampire said as the Reaper and his daughter were about to turn.

"You're really just going to leave?" HIM asked. "You're not even going to try and cut off my head?"

"Under any other circumstance I would, but in this case, I think the alternative is better." Junior answered. "It seems all that activity has accelerated your condition. It seems to be eating away at you much faster now and I bet it hurts like a bitch (cutting off your arm probably didn't help neither). You probably won't last more than a hour."

The blisters and boils on the demon were a brighter green and oozing quite a bit more than before. "So you're just going to leave me here to rot until my soul burns away completely?"

"You're not worth my time anymore." The Reaper stated. "An apt metaphor for your life, I believe."

"Oh, come now Junior, aren't you even curious about how I survived for all these years?"

"Is it because the universe can never let me be too happy?" Junior asked rhetorically.

"Close."

HIM took in a deep breath and then started hacking ferociously. He kept at it until something finally worked its way up into his throat. He then vomited up, from his suddenly wide jaw, two children. Two ghost children to be exact. A boy and a girl, both with greenish skin and white hair. As bad as Him's condition was, these two had it much worse, with whole portions of their bodies completely eaten away by their poisoning, with the rest of them glowing a sickly green. Junior didn't recognize either of the children but there was something familiar about them.

Once he was done coughing out the rest of his bile, HIM wiped his mouth on his sleeve and put his claws on the shoulders of both the children.

"Junior, I'd like you to meet Manny and Daniela Phantom, your long lost little brother and sister."

MJ and Jacob's eyes went wide with horror. "Oh God…" was all they could utter. Junior stayed silent as he looked at the decaying ghosts.

"You wouldn't believe the effort that went into obtaining these two." HIM chuckled. "I'd originally planned on throwing them in your mother's face if I ever got the chance. But then she dropped that bomb on me and then you killed her, so that idea went out the window. But they still proved useful. Turns out that they made nice little meat shields for me, soaking up a majority of the damage that would have otherwise ended me. I've kept them close to my heart ever since. Literally."

Jacob's eyes pounded in his head at the sick act before him. "You-…you're a monster!"

"Oh, now is that any way to talk in front of children, child? Which reminds me! Manny, Daniela, say hello to your niece and her friend."

The two ghost children just stared with vacant dead eyes. These spirits were nothing hollow shells that never had the chance to be filled.

"I said say hi!" HIM started shaking them, letting their heads bob back and forth like their necks were both snapped. Still, they did nothing.

"Dad! Make him stop!" MJ cried. Even with all the stories she'd heard, all the foul creatures that she'd been warned existed, she never could have imagined that there could exist a man so…unrelentingly cruel.

Junior just stared straight at Him. "You expecting to get a reaction out of me?" He asked. "Hoping I'll lose all my senses because of what you've done to them? Sorry to disappoint but I already know how much of an Abomination you are." HIM stopped shaking the children. "I never met them, Kare. Hell, I didn't even know my mother had been expecting until I heard you killed them. To me, they're just another thing I'm glad you get to burn for."

HIM scowled and took his hands off the children, who now just floated there, their expressions still vacant. "You're right. What was I thinking? I should have known you were too heartless to care."

With nothing left to say, Junior lifted the scythe up to tear open a portal home.

"…Minnie had the same reaction when I showed them to her, after all."

Junior stopped. "...What?"

HIM looked at the Reaper. "You know, back during the war, when she first left home to…ohhhh…that's right. The left eye gives you her heart. Not her memories." Him's smile returned, a tad wider than before.

"…Dad?" MJ tried to get his attention. She knew they had to get out of there. It was a bad idea to let Him keep talking. "Dad?!"

"She was so obsessed with hurting you back then, Junior." HIM said, Junior ignoring his daughter. "And someone had to show her how to use the Devil's Essence properly. And who better than me? But even though the thought of you two beating each other to bloody pulps exited me to no end, I don't do anything for free. Thankfully, we were both civilized people and worked out a deal that benefited us both. She wanted the pleasure of punishing you for betraying her, so to get me to help her, she gave me pleasure in return."

The hand that gripped Junior's scythe trembled, with him doing everything in his power not to explode with rage.

"Oh…I'm sorry, Junior…" HIM smirked. "Were you under the impression that you were her first?"

Quicker than half a second later and the Reaper was across the room, the blade of the scythe just barely an inch above the devil's skull. The only thing that kept the enraged Junior from burying it into him was the two ghost children, pushing against the staff of the weapon and keeping it from going anything further.

HIM's smile never wavered. "You seem a tad nettled. Was it something I said?"

Junior held his hand up at the three.

"Die!"

Energy exploded from his hand and took out the entire cell, the wall, and everything behind it for several rooms. When he put his hand down there wasn't even a corpse left. But not because he got them.

He turned his head sharply to the side of the room, where the two ghost children lifted HIM up from the floor, where their intangibility saved them from the blast.

"You're not much of a family man, are you, Junior?" HIM mocked. "Such a terrible brother that you're willing to cut through your own siblings just to get to me."

Junior dove at them. The Phantom children together unleashed a massive Ghostly Wail. The Ecto-burns on their bodies glowed brighter, making it clear that using this ability accelerated their degeneration.

Junior did not care. He unleashed his own Ghostly Wail, cutting through theirs' with ease and knocking them back into the wall.

With HIM's slaves no longer protecting him Junior grabbed the demon by the throat, lifting the scythe up high to end this.

"…And such a terrible father that you'd leave your own daughter completely unprotected in a place like this."

Junior's eyes went wide and he turned around. He saw MJ and Jacob watching him as they stood near the door, right where he left them.

And then he saw the bright yellow triangle standing directly behind them.

"Hi Junior!" Bill yelled.

Bill grabbed MJ.

"Bye Junior!"

Bill then teleported away with her.

"NO!" Junior tried to catch them before they disappeared, but it was too late.

HIM, now free from Junior's grip, slowly stood back up.

"Well, would you look at that? I've got a hostage now!"

Junior's glowing green eyes looked almost blazingly red as he glared at the demon.

HIM nearly burst out laughing.

"This is fun, huh?"


	22. Memory Pain

**Part 22: Memory Pain**

Junior pressed the scythe's blade so close to HIM's neck that it nearly drew blood.

"Call him back!" Junior screamed into the demon's face.

HIM remained as smug as ever. "Or what? You'll kill me? Torture me? I'm on my way out already because of your mother and when I'm gone there won't even be the tiniest scrap of my little black soul left for you plead with!"

Junior growled and pushed the blade in a little further, doing his best not to just cut his head off in anger.

"Call him now!"

"It sucks when you lose your children, doesn't it?" HIM goaded. "Oh, and just like you told my boys before you had them so viciously killed…you really should mind your surroundings."

Junior was then shot in his side by two strong ecto-blasts, sending him tumbling away from Him. He was quick to recover to his feet as his two lost siblings attacked.

" _Dammit!"_ Junior swore as he dodged between the two ghosts. This was all his fault. He should have just grabbed the kids and left! He should have just finished HIM off as soon as he had the chance!

Ever since he attacked Hell Junior noticed that the council never once brought up their secret meetings or the message they'd supposedly sent Bill to deliver that night. It hadn't taken the Reaper long to realize that Bill had lied to him and was trying to get him to start a war with the other realms. The points Bill made were still valid and Junior knew that, push comes to shove, he would have made the same decision again to protect his family. _"Dammit!"_ But he'd been a fool. He thought it had just been Bill being Bill. He never could have imagined he was working with someone as bad as HIM. It all made sense now though. Hunson and Bill were great friends. Bill probably came down here all the time and at some point found HIM. And if there's one thing Kare's good at, it's appealing to someone's worse nature, not that it probably took much in this case.

The Phantom child threw balls of energy but the Reaper dodged them with ease.

" _This is bad."_ Junior thought. _"The two of them working together…and if it turns out Hunson is in on it…"_

Jacob stood pressed against the wall as he watched the Reaper dodge between the ghost children who were relentless in their pursuit of him. He was so focused on not get caught in the crossfire that he didn't even realize HIM had made his way to him until he put his claw on his shoulder, startling the young demon vampire.

"Quite the turn in events, wouldn't you say?" HIM asked his son as he also watched the fight.

Jacob wanted to get away but the claw had a very tight grip on him. He then saw Junior dodge another ecto-blast.

"Why doesn't he attack them?" Jacob asked by accident, too scared to keep his thoughts in.

HIM smiled. "Oh, Junior could blast those brats into oblivion with the flick of his wrist, no problem. Trouble is their souls are intertwined with mine. That's how I was able to shield myself (mostly) from the bomb's blast. Junior knows that if he takes them out, the shock will weaken me considerably and I will waste away on the spot. And if that happens, he'll likely never see his daughter again. The Grim Reaper might be powerful but even he can't enter the Mindscape."

Out of the corner of his eye Junior saw Him standing next to Jacob.

"Get away from the boy, Kare!"

Junior flew at the two but Manny and Daniela got there first, both taking in a breath before unleashing their Ghostly Wails. Junior could not counter as he did last time in fear of destroying them so he took the attack in full force.

HIM continued talking over the loud wails. "If there's one lesson I wish to impart upon you this day, my boy, it's that if you ever have an unfair advantage over someone, make sure to rub their face in it. Makes it all the more sweet."

Jacob watched on, feeling almost as helpless as Junior as he tried to fight and not fight against the twins.

Jacob looked up at the demon. "Please, HIM, this has gone on long enough!"

HIM raised an eyebrow. "HIM? What happened to "dad"? I kind of like that one better."

"Please! I'll do whatever you want! Just stop this and bring Mimi back!"

"And ruin all this fun?" HIM laughed. "No, I think we can stand to wait a few minutes. Give Bill a chance to cause some damage."

Jacob stammered over his words in his inability to comprehend the WHY of this cruelty. "But-but…but I'm giving you what you wanted! You did all this to get me on your side!"

"And?" HIM raised an eyebrow. "Does that mean I have to stop all the fun I'm having now? I mean it's not exactly like there was ever any doubt that you'd join me. World doesn't revolve around just you, you know?"

"But-but Mimi…"

"Don't worry. I said I didn't go through all this just to kill you both. Bill won't kill her. Though…if he applies just the right amount of pressure, perhaps we can give her an origin similar to her namesake's. See how far we can bend her before she snaps."

Jacob stared up at the cackling demon who watched the Reaper fight. This monster who talked so casually of torturing his friend to insanity just to get back at someone neither of them had ever known, someone whom they had no connection with outside of family bloodlines and grudges. Jacob didn't care how real this was. He could not accept this as reality. He could not except that this person was real.

Jacob pulled and struggled to get out of HIM's claw. "MJ was right! I never should have listened to a thing you've said! You're nothing but a liar! A king of liars!"

"Lord Almighty of liars, if you don't mind." HIM corrected.

"You are not my father!" Jacob screamed as he tried to pry the claw open. "It's a lie! I could never be spawned from someone like you! You just said that so you could trick me!"

"Jacob, you're ten." HIM said. "If I was trying to trick you, believe me, I wouldn't need a lie as good as that."

Jacob yanked and yanked as he tried to escape. Eventually HIM got fed up with it.

"All right, that's enough!" HIM held the boy by the shoulder and smacked him against the wall, pushing him into it as the demon got to eye level with him.

"Let me tell you a little something about lying, my boy." HIM growled. "If I did it all the time, then I'd be predictable and never get anything done. I choose when to tell the truth and when to tell a lie because both are tools for what I desire. Lies cause anarchy. Truths cause tragedies. Now tell me, my boy, out of those two options, which do you think I would enjoy causing more?"

HIM watched as the hope faded from the boy's eyes as he slowly came to grips with what the demon meant. His cruel smile returning, HIM stood straight up again.

"It sucks, I know. But believe me, that suffering will do you wonders in the future. You'll be able to enjoy yourself more when you know exactly how much pain you're causing."

HIM let go of his son's shoulder. Jacob was too crushed to run away.

…

"Let me out!"

"No."

"Let me out!"

"No."

"LET ME OUT!"

"No."

MJ flailed her arms at the dream demon, trying to hit him, but Bill just casually pushed his palm against her forehead and kept her from reaching him. The two stood (well, she stood, Bill never stops floating) on a large mass of rock in the middle of a vast black and starry space. Or at least that's how they both chose to see it as at the moment. This was the dimension known as the Mindscape.

MJ still failed in her flailing. "Let me go or when my dad gets here, he's gonna fry your stupid bowtie wearing ass straight into kingdom come!"

"Sorry, kid (well, actually, not really), but I've been charged with the task of keeping you here until your daddy does something stupid that'll ruin him." Bill said as he continued to push her back. "On the positive side, you're a key part of that plan! High five!"

Bill raised his hand up to her. MJ finally stopped trying to hit him and shot a look that told him she was not amused.

"My dad will be here as soon as he's finished with HIM!" She shouted.

"Not likely, red. This is the Mindscape. It's a purely mental realm, meaning he can't get in here even with that scythe of his. You're only here because I'm the master of the Mindscape, meaning my powers are vague and undefined and I can do whatever I want because of that. Go me!"

Bill gloated as he floated before her. MJ took a moment to calm down and think of what she could do.

"If we're in the Mindscape… then that means whatever I imagine becomes real here." MJ said, remembering her past studies on the other realms.

"Well, it really depends on how you define reality, considering this place is often called a dream realm and dreams aren't usually consider realit-"

Bill dodged out of the way as MJ swung her katana at him. She had imagined it and it appeared, as did the thick samurai armor that covered her from head to toe, the mask of which bearing the likeness of her shogun grandfather.

MJ stabbed forward at Bill and continued to slash at him. Bill's cane appeared in his hand and he intercepted her blow. The sword and cane clashed again and again as MJ tried to take him down, while Bill made lightsaber noises as he swung (why he didn't just create a lightsaber is anyone's guess).

The sword and the cane smashed into each other again, MJ and Bill pushing against the other.

"I know your history." MJ said. "You've been beaten here before. All I need to do is overwork you and I'll go free!"

Bill rolled his eye off to the side. "Yeeeeaaaah…maybe that'd be true if it was anyone other than you…but since it is you, neither you nor I really see that happening."

"What do you mean?" MJ continued to push forward until she saw a large shadow looming over the two of them. She jumped back just as a massive foot smashed into the ground where they'd been.

"What I mean is your subconscious isn't very subtle, red." Bill said.

The vast space where they'd been before was gone, now replaced by a manifestation of Castle Grimskull, only much, much, MUCH larger than the real one. MJ stood about the size of an ant in comparison to the massive castle, as well as in comparison to the owner of the massive foot, an even more massive Grim Jr.

Joining the colossal Reaper was MJ's mother Chi, Box Lunch, Jeff, and Jacob. All walked on, none hearing the voice of the tiny MJ or even noticing the several times they nearly stepped on her.

Bill flew up to her as she ducked to avoid one of Jeff's many legs. "The child of two incredibly powerful beings who ends up with no powers of her own develops an inferiority complex. Sheesh, red, could you be any more cliché?"

MJ got up and slashed at him but Bill touched the tip of her sword with his finger and the blade fell to pieces on the spot. In the minute she used to gasp in disbelief, Bill wacked her atop the head with his cane and split the armor right down the center, breaking it off her body.

"Sorry kid, but unless you've got something like kitten cannons to throw at me, this fight's pretty much over." Bill said.

MJ refused to give up, summoning a scythe to her hand and attacking the isosceles monster with it.

"Sigh…one track mind." Bill said as he easily evaded her attacks. "But I can work with that. Hey red, remember when you stubbed your toe a month ago?"

She was confused by his words and it took her a moment to realize that the Mindscape had shifted again. Now the castle was the proper size, as was she. She found herself walking through one of the hallways, reading _Fifty Shades of Gandalf_ , a book she'd already read yet it felt like this was her first time doing so. She was so entranced by the book that she paid no attention to where she was going and slammed her bare foot right into the wall.

"F**K!" She cursed before coming to the realization that what she was experiencing had already happened to her. Exactly like this in fact. She was reliving one of her memories.

Bill appeared to her as the realization came. "That's right, kiddo. You and I are taking a trip down memory lane! Stopping only to see those special little moments in your life. Like this one."

The Mindscape shifted again. MJ's view of everything was now upside down. And shaking up and down. Because she was being shaken up and down.

This memory was from when she and Jacob had snuck into Toadblatt's school of sorcery, hoping to see what secrets lie within the magical place. What they found was a Multi-Troll, that is, a creature that appears to be made of several trolls that got morphed together into a singular being with many heads and arms, one of which was at the moment shaking the daughter of Death like a ragdoll.

She could see Jacob running around the creature as he tried to figure out what to do. Given that she was reliving the memory MJ could not recall how they got out of this, but clearly they did eventually, as this is not where her memories end.

She looked over and saw Bill floating nearby, reading a glowing book titled _The Life and Times of Mimi Jr Grim_ and actually looking rather annoyed as he flipped through it.

"Minor bruise, minor bruise, minor burns, paper cut, minor bruise, chicken pox?! You know, red, for an adventurer you sure suck at letting yourself get hurt!" Bill yelled.

MJ was finally able to talk back when the creature stopped shaking her to swing one of its clubs at the young vampire.

"Perhaps I'm just smart enough to work around my threats."

"Yeah, until about five minutes ago." Bill said as he flipped a page.

The Mindscape shifted again. She was in the underneath of the Nightosphere, running towards a dungeon door. She'd almost made it when a massive black wing intercepted her and smacked her back into a wall on the other side of the room.

Once again MJ found herself facing off against the massive monstrosity that was once her best friend. The creature lunged at her but she managed to get out of the way.

Over by the memory of HIM, who saying some words she could barely hear in her panic, floated Bill Cipher with a bag of popcorn.

'You think you can beat me with this?!" She yelled at Bill as she dodged the monster's attacks. "I already know that I make it out of this! This will all be over in another minute!" She grabbed one of the bars that had made up HIM's cell, ready to defend herself with it.

Bill was not worried. "You're right, red, this will be over in a moment. Thankfully though, I don't have to let that moment come."

MJ swung the bar at the vampire demon but it did not connect. In fact, the bar was gone from her hands and she was running at the door again.

The wing met her body again and slapped her across the room. Again.

"You see, red, I can make you relive this memory as many times as I want, and the fear and pain you feel will always stay fresh because, well, this is still your first time feeling it."

Bill then put her into a loop, where every time after she was smacked into the wall she'd find herself running back towards the door and right into the wing again. Her pattern never changed because she was forced to follow how the memory went.

This loop went on for many cycles, and though he laughed a lot Bill started to get bored.

"I'm only doing so much with this memory because this is the one where you felt the most physical and emotional pain." He said as he flipped through the book of her life again. "Believe me, if you weren't so sheltered or acted more careless I would be giving you more variety. After all pain is meant to be hilarious and-…" Bill stopped on a certain page. "Hmm, this one feels interesting."

The Mindscape shifted. The location as now a dank dark lair. Broken animatronics and machines littered the floor, some looking almost like slot machines and gunslingers. Card symbols were imprinted in several locations throughout the lair.

Bill looked confused. "Wait…this memory isn't yours…"

MJ could see four people behind her she didn't recognize. Three children about her age and a large green sack-man. All were cowering in fear of her.

"I didn't ask for your help."

The person who said these words was right in front of her. It was a skeleton child with brown hair and a black hoodie. It seemed that he was reattaching his head.

" _Dad?!"_ She'd seen some photos of her father from his youth. If this was not her father than the resemblance was uncanny. But a second later MJ realized that her first thought when describing this boy was not dad. She had a complicated mix of emotions when it came to this boy before her, one of which made her heart ache.

"I was doing just fine on my own, ok?" The skeleton boy started screaming in her face. "I had everything under control. I could've taken those jerks on myself. You didn't have to come barging in here and show off your stupid dance!"

He was so angry. Why? All she'd tried to do was help him.

"So now you got super cool demon powers, big deal! Just because I don't have my own powers doesn't mean you have to rub it in my face!" He continued his verbal assault. "Why do you always have to be such a show off?!"

Every word he said struck her in the heart. All she tried to do was help him. All she wanted was for him to…to…

"I'm going home." The skeleton boy finally said, getting up and leaving her to stew in his bile.

She wanted to say something, anything, to get him back over to her. She wanted to apologize, to beg his forgiveness. For what she did not care. She didn't want him to hate her. If he hated her, then he would never…

Distracted by her heartbreak she was caught off-guard by the giant metal hand that grabbed her from behind.

"Brother! Help me!" She cried out on instinct for the person she wanted most to save her, knowing full well he could not.

She felt a tug on her back. And then a tear. The tentacles that had once protruded her back were ripped harshly from her, taking a good deal of her backside with it.

The metal monster that had done the deed proclaimed itself loudly, but she could not hear it, too distracted by the stinging of her wounds.

They would be the second most painful thing she would feel this day.

One by one, the monster pulled her parts from her. Starting with her arm, then her leg, and finally her bottom half.

The pain was indescribable. Every part of her body flared from the pain, her mind trying to shut itself down as feel it no longer. She didn't even notice at first when the monster finally dropped what remained of her to the floor.

The pain wouldn't end. As the tears streamed from her face she looked over to the skeleton boy, begging for him to help her. To make the pain stop.

He ran over to her. The fear in his eye-sockets. The concern, the regret, these were all real. She could see it. He would give anything, anything, to help her.

She acted on instinct. It was the only way to justify her thought process.

She plunged her remaining hand into her right eye-socket.

She ripped out her eye.

And the memory ended.

The Mindscape shifted back to its original vast space.

MJ stayed laid down on the ground curled into the fetal position, tears still streaming from her eyes and weeping bitterly as the pain from the memory stayed with her. Bill floated above her.

"Wow…that was possibly the most horrible thing I've ever seen happen to a kid…wanna go again?!"

MJ could not respond. Everything inside her just felt so destroyed. She was broken.

"I'll take your silence as a yes." Bill said. The Mindscape started to shift again.

But suddenly a sword appeared from out of nowhere and touched down directly in front of the dream demon.

"What the-" He started to say when suddenly a person appeared and grabbed the sword, swiping it at his singular eye. Bill cried out in pain as he put his hand over his eye. The person who cut him ran over to MJ and picked her up.

"That attack will not hold a being like him back for long."

MJ recognized the voice. It was the voice from before, the one that had saved her from the Devil's Essence. The child looked up at her savior. It was a Caucasian woman with long blond hair and a white and green school uniform by the look of it. The woman was almost a dead ringer for MJ's grandmother except for her eye color, faded grey instead of red. Just like her and her father's.

Bill finally managed to open his eye back up and saw the woman. "How did you even get in here?!"

The woman ignored him and continued to talk to MJ. "Let us converse somewhere more private."

The entire Mindscape seemed to slip pass them as MJ was unsure if they'd moved or if the space itself moved past them. When she was able to focus again she saw that they were away from Bill Cipher, though the starry background suggested they were still in his realm. In fact the only difference from where they were before is that the new location had a red wooden chair and several screens around it, all with SMPTE color bars on them.

The woman set her down, letting her stand in the vast space with her. "I imagine you have many questions."

MJ did her best to speak, still recovering from the memory. "…Wh…who…?"

The woman smiled. "I suppose that is the best question to start with. My name is Minimandy, of the house Grim. I am your aunt."


	23. It runs in the family

**Part 23: It runs in the family**

 **Guest from Sept 15:** To answer your question (assuming I'm understanding it correctly) I have been thinking about the regular Junior and family meeting this possible future Junior, but if I do that it'll probably be after I finish this story, and possibly a few other Grim Tales stories too, because I have an idea that might use them all. We'll see what happens.

* * *

 **Chapter Start:**

"You-you're…."

The tall blond nodded. "I'm very happy that I can finally meet you face to face, MJ."

The child of Death looked in awe for few minutes before she straightened her gaze and her expression became cross. She turned around. "Alright, Bill, where are you?!" She called out.

Minimandy raised an eyebrow. "He's likely back where we left him, looking for us and presumably pissed off."

MJ looked back at her. "You be quiet!" She snapped. She then looked around again. "Bill, I'm not falling for this! Get out here!"

MJ continued yelling out for Bill and Minnie quickly put things together. "I see… you believe I am one of the dream demon's tricks?"

"This is the Mindscape. He can manipulate this place however he wants to and can make me see whatever he wants."

Minnie pondered this for a moment. "I suppose I cannot blame you for your distrust. In fact I would probably be even more worried if you had accepted me at face value, especially given the day you've had."

"Glad you're so understanding. Now please shut up!" MJ said rudely as she looked around in every direction, seeing nothing but the vast space around where they were.

Minnie's eyebrow twitched in annoyance and she pulled onto her niece's ear.

"OW!" MJ tried to get her off.

"While I may understand your reluctance to believe, I do not have the time for it, so I'll be quick: if Bill's goal was to torture you and mess with your head, then why would he conjure me up to give you a brief reprieve instead on simply continuing to subject you to my memory _like he was about to_?"

MJ stopped struggling at those last few words. "That was…that was your memory?"

"I'm certain you didn't believe it was yours." Minnie commented.

Distracted for a moment by the implications of this, MJ regained her senses and slapped Minnie's hand away. "Look, I don't care whose memory that was or if this is still just Bill messing with me, you are not my aunt."

"And why is that?"

"Because my aunt is dead!" MJ yelled. "She died before I was born."

"I did." Minnie confirmed simply. "Though dying may be too light of words to describe what happened. The point of mother's bomb after all was to make sure that the souls of the fallen would not raise from Hell to continue fighting her. So I did die and also had my soul obliterated. Interesting that it is members from the family of Death that are able to find fates worse than death."

MJ was momentarily confused but shook it off. "Yes, my aunt is gone, so why should I believe that you're her?"

Minnie pondered for a moment. "I suppose that I am as much the real Minimandy as my grandfather was the real Nergal Senior when he first appeared before your father."

"…What do you mean?"

Minnie gestured over to the TV screens. "Allow me to start at the beginning." The screens changed to multiple images, one showing a tall man with green glasses, long black nails, and black hair in a tuft, with multiple tentacles protruding out from his back. "Due to my mother's affair with her general, Nergal Jr, I was born into a species known as the Nergals. The Nergals are a race of powerful shape-shifters, able to take on any form or create any weapon we so desire. There are few of us left now due to the dangerous nature we possess. Especially after Halloweentown."

" _Halloweentown…"_ MJ had heard of such a place before. It was said to be the physical embodiment of the season of fright, the king of which being her very own great uncle, Jack Skellington. It was one of the many locations destroyed in her grandmother's war and it occurred to her now that her father never said much about the town before its demise.

The screen changed to show the ripped apart child Minimandy holding out her eyeball to her brother. "We Nergals possess a unique ability, purposely infused into us by my grandfather, Nergal Senior, the founder of our species. The transfer of the eye."

MJ watched as the child Minimandy slid the eye into Junior's eye-socket. The tentacles of the fallen girl soon spread over his body. "What…what's happening to him?"

Minnie watched the screen with her. "When a Nergal demon willingly offers its right eye to someone and that person willingly accepts it, that person gains the power of the fallen Nergal. It is a symbiotic relationship of a sort. The bearer of the right eye gains not only the Nergal's power, but their memories as well. My grandfather created this process so that the Nergal species could live on forever. The fallen would live on in a new host and the memories of all Nergals would never be forgotten. The memory Bill caused you to experience…that was my final memory before giving my eye to my brother."

MJ grabbed her own arm, remembering the feeling of it being ripped off. She trembled slightly, which did not go unnoticed by her aunt.

"You…you died…." MJ said.

Minnie nodded. "Aye. I was slain by the foul contraption of the filth known as Oogie Boogie. Had I not transferred my power to Junior, he likely would have shared the same fate."

MJ watched the screens, now showing the childhood of her father and her aunt, back before she became a ragdoll. "My father… I knew that my grandfather was all bone, but I never gave it much thought that dad had flesh… I just thought that was the way he was."

"I suppose he never wanted to tell you much about his past. I imagine it's something he doesn't like to think about much himself." Minnie said. "What happened that night… when I gave my brother my power it also caused his own powers to awaken. His Reaper powers. And in his grieving over my death and Heaven taking me away… he became the first Demon Reaper in existence."

The screen showed a titanic black monster, with eyes peeking out of it in several locations and carrying a massive bone scythe in its hand. This was not memory, as Minnie had not seen the creature before she died, just an image she created to give her niece a good idea of what it looked like. But looking at the monster, to MJ it seemed almost…familiar.

"It was due to my brother's Nergal flesh that he was able to impregnate your mother instead of finding a surrogate like our mother did to have us." Minnie continued. "You are also a part of the Nergal species."

"Fat lot of good that's done, huh?" She responded jokingly, trying to deal with the weight of all the information that was being dumped on her. "Even with the blood two different shape-shifting species running through me I still don't have any powers to speak of."

"You are very wrong about that." Minnie said, seriousness in her tone. "You do have power. A great deal of it."

MJ looked at her in confusion. "How would you know?"

"What you said before was partially accurate. I am not the _true_ Minimandy. She was destroyed along with the former Land of Tainted Souls. What I am is a projected representation of her, what she gave to your father when he accepted the offering of her left eye."

"The left eye?"

Minnie nodded. "While the right eye is the transfer of powers and memories, both of which can be passed on to the host's offspring, the left is…well…the giving of things a tad more personal."

"How personal?"

Minnie, who had her arms crossed, blushed slightly and avoided looking directly at her niece.

"Oh….OH!" MJ looked up at her aunt in her realization and now it was her turn to blush, remembering the feelings she'd experienced while reliving Minnie's memory. This also gave whole new context to HIM's words towards her father. "I…uh…wow….I don't really know what to say to that…"

Minnie still didn't look at her. "You have been born into a…complicated…family."

"I gathered that when the two most normal people in it are my grandfather Death and my grandfather/grandmother the embodiment of Darkness."

Minnie coughed in embarrassment. "Yes, well, getting back on track…the giving of the left eye is what created me. Just as my grandfather implanted himself into the mind and soul of every Nergal Demon that was spawned from him and their children, Minimandy has herself implanted in the mind and soul of every Nergal Demon that was spawned from her, i.e. you."

MJ's stopped her blushing and listened intently.

"I have been with you since the day you were born, MJ. I exist here," She gestured to the TV screens and the chair within the vast space. "Within the realms of an alternate dreamworld, seeing the world you live in through your eyes." The TV screens changed to show several events throughout the daughter of Death's life. The first time she met Jacob. Her mother teaching her how to shoot a man's head off. Her father staying up with her one night when she couldn't sleep. Herself as a baby within her crib. Her and Jacob meeting HIM for the first time.

"Before…that was you..." MJ realized. "When the Devil's Essence tried to take over me…that was your voice pushing it away."

Minnie nodded. "To my shame I do have experience when it comes to the Devil's red. I was not going to just stand by and risk letting you fall into the same pit I did."

"I….thank you." MJ said sincerely, smiling for the first time since she got there at her aunt.

Minnie almost smiled back but kept her face straight, remembering her purpose. "You may wish to save your thanks. …I told you that you have great power within you…"

"Yeah, but so did HIM." MJ pointed out. "He kept going on about how dad was the one preventing me from using my powers. But he was only saying that to trick me into joining him, so it was a lie, right?" MJ saw the look of small sadness on her aunt's face. "…Right?"

Minnie sighed. "While it is true that Kare is a liar and a cheat beyond any other, it is unfortunate that this was a time where he could use the truth to cause more pain than a fib."

MJ looked at her with disbelieving eyes. "No…no, you're wrong! Why would my father ever keep me from using my powers? Because he's scared of them like HIM said?"

"That is a half-truth that the demon told you." Minnie stated, not wanting her to think the worst of her father, like HIM no doubt intended her to. "My brother is afraid of your power, but that is because he's afraid for you, not of you."

"What do you mean?"

Minnie took a moment before answering. "I told you that I have been with you since the moment you were born. It is because I have seen all your memories since that point that I have seen the power you are capable of. The power you don't even know you possess. ….Would you like to see it for yourself?"

It was now that MJ couldn't help but compare her aunt to the demon she and Jacob had faced earlier. Like HIM, Minnie was now offering her something she deeply wanted to know about: her powers. The difference was that when HIM made her an offer he made it sound like the right thing to do and that she couldn't possibly make a better decision than the one he presented her with. But with Minnie…it was something able the woman's eyes… something that almost said that she was sorry for what she was going to show her.

This difference in mind, MJ nodded in agreement.

The dreamworld shifted.

…

Once again MJ found herself within Castle Grimskull, the difference this time being that she was very aware that she was seeing a memory. Minnie stood next to her. "I'm going to keep you as an outsider looking in for this memory. I don't want to risk you becoming as you were. …Not yet, anyway…"

MJ was about to question what she meant when she noticed that her home was in ruins. The walls were in shambles and debris was scattered everywhere. She could hear the sound of cannon fire coming from all around her. As she went towards the noise she thought that she was on one of the lower balconies of the castle as there was no roof above her head. But as she looked around she recognized some the decorations along the wall and on the floor. They were on the first floor and MJ soon realized that it wasn't just the ceiling that was missing, half the castle was gone!

She ran further out into the open, watching as the castle's guards fired the cannons at something she couldn't see in the dark nighttime sky. There was great panic in their voices, orders being given to keep firing no matter what. The ground rumbled under her feet.

Behind the guards she saw the familiar shape of her cloaked father and her nanny Jeff. Both were kneeling at the side of another figure lying on the ground. MJ recognized her instantly.

"Mom!" MJ ran over her parents.

When she got over to them she cupped her hand to her mouth in horror. Her mother's face looked almost completely lifeless as it struggled to take in air. She…she was missing her entire bottom half, her black blood smeared across the floor and the remains of the walls, almost like something had exploded from her midsection. MJ couldn't help but again recall the memory she'd experienced earlier. The feeling of being ripped apart. She could imagine her mother's pain all too well at the moment.

Her father had a tight grip on his wife's hand as he kept her head slightly propped up. MJ had never seen such fear in his face before.

"Chi! Chi, just hang in there!" Junior said as he looked into his wife's fading eyes. Her breathing was slowing, but also becoming much shorter.

The castle shook again and servants toppled over. MJ was too wrapped up in what was happening to notice. "Dad, what happened to her?!" Junior did not respond, nor did he give any indication that he was aware of her presence at all. "Dad?!" She tried to touch his arm but her hand phased right through him. She quickly retracted it in surprise.

"This is a memory, remember?" Minnie said from behind her, unnervingly calm amongst the destruction going on around her. "They can't see or hear you. Whatever didn't originally happen in this memory will not happen. You are just an observer. Nothing more."

MJ knelt beside her parents, watching as her mother faded and her father tried to keep her there. "B-but…but what's going on?! What did this to her?! To our home?!"

Minnie answered by staring straight ahead past her family, beyond the castle limits. MJ looked and nearly fell over at the sight of it.

A monster beyond any another towered over the remains of the castle, its size dwarfing the home. Hell, it might be even bigger than the mountain the castle stood on as far as the daughter of Death could tell. She had not noticed it earlier because she'd mistaken it for the sky itself. Blacker than the darkest night she'd ever seen, the green eyes that spread around the creature's arms and legs looked like stars in a void, with occasionally the flames from the ineffective projectiles that struck the monster lighting its skin for a second. In those seconds if you looked hard enough you could see its body slithering, as though every part of it was constantly in motion.

As far as MJ could tell the creature had no head, its jawline appearing to be around its chest, sharp gleaming green teeth, each as big as a house. MJ watched as the creature slowly opened its mouth, letting it get wide before releasing a bellowing roar/screech that shook the very land it stood over. MJ covered her ears as the remaining walls of the castle exploded behind her and the servants protecting the domain of their master seemed to wither away and become dust.

As her world vibrated around her MJ's attention was somehow caught by the cough of blood from her mother. Junior, who had never taken his eyes off his wife, held her gently.

"I got you, Chi. It's going to be ok…" He was lying. Even MJ could see it on his face. The look he gave her…that sadness… he didn't know how he could help her…

"…Grim…" She started to say, only to hack up more blood.

"Chi, don't talk. You're only putting yourself in more pain." He told her.

Chi slowly lifted her trembling hand upwards, holding it out to the black beast that towered over them. "…she needs me…"

"She?" MJ and Junior both said at the same time. MJ was confused by what she meant but the look on her father's face showed that he understood her meaning. "…Of course you'd know she's a girl…" He said with an almost defeated smile. Chi looked like she was trying her damndest to get up, but her condition made that impossible.

"…I can't lose her too…" Chi looked at her husband, eyes slightly more watery than they already were. "Grim…please…"

"Chi…" Junior looked back and forth between his wife and the monster tearing apart their home. Pain etched his face. He wasn't sure what to say. He didn't know what to do.

"Chi…" He said again, looking deeply into her eyes. "Chi…I'll find a way, just…just hang in….hang in…"

Junior was doing everything he could to not crack. MJ had never seen her father cry before. At this moment she honestly wished that still hadn't.

Chi's hand made it over to her husband's cheek. Junior held it softly against him as he looked down at her. Chi opened her mouth to say something but stopped and fell silent. Her head went limp and her eyes fogged.

"…Mom?" MJ whimpered. "Mom?!"

Junior held his wife's body tightly, his eyes shut tighter to the reality around him. MJ was kneeling down next to him, in shock over what she was seeing.

Slowly Junior lifted his head back up, his eyes no longer sorrowful but instead filled with rage beyond what he released against HIM. He gently laid his wife back onto the ground and stood up.

"Jeff, get Chi's body out of the way." He ordered, his back turned to the monster.

Like MJ, Jeff could feel the anger pouring out from the Reaper and did what he was told, no questions. He spun a cocoon around his mistress until it covered her completely and placed her on his back. He scurried away with her, leaving Junior to face the creature on his own.

Junior grew as he turned around. His muscles expanded. Spikes burst from his back. Scales replaced his clothing. Nergal flesh spread throughout his being and covered his father's prized blade. His increased weight cracked the ground under him and his massive feet created larger craters. MJ stepped back and looked skyward, in terrified awe as her father took on the form of the creature that nearly wiped out Halloweentown: The Demon Reaper. It was slightly shorter than the black beast, but it practically oozed with unrestricted power.

The black beast lunged mindlessly at the Demon Reaper, unafraid of Death's might. It crashed him through the remains of the castle and the mountains. The ground gave out from under MJ as the mountain crumbled. She panicked but soon realized she was not falling. This was memory. She was just an observer.

The Beast was on top of the Demon Reaper, crushing him into the ground as it let loose another deafening howl. The Nergal flesh of the Reaper reacted spastically, like the howl was hurting it. The Demon Reaper finally swung its massive skull scythe and cut through the arm hold him down. Finally free he leapt high into the air. Eyes were spread across the beast's back and it saw him as he came falling back down, the blade of the scythe coming straight towards it. Tentacles burst forth from the beast and wrapped around the Demon Reaper's arms and legs to restrict him. But Junior had expected this tactic. Before he'd been caught he let go of the scythe. A second set of arms burst from the Reaper's chest and grasped the scythe, impending downwards to finish the strike.

The blade crashed into the beast's body.

And then everything around MJ went dark.

MJ stood in confused silence. She waited for a few minutes for something to happen, but nothing did.

Minnie walked slowly back up to her niece, the realm shifting back to the starry space of the monitor room it had been before.

"I…imagine you can understand why your father sealed your powers away…" Having existed within her head for so long, Minnie knew how bright of a child MJ was and that it wouldn't take her very long to realize what she referring to. She also knew that it would take her a moment to let it sink in.

"What…what happened to the rest of it?" MJ asked, her voice cracking slightly, not turning to look back at her aunt.

"That is the end of the memory." She said.

MJ struggled to find her words. "That…that can't be it! What happened to my home?! What happened to my mother?!"

"I do not know." Minnie responded simply. "I've tried to find out myself but that was your earliest memory and it just stops at that point. Your next closest is this." The realm shifted and became the nursery of the castle, where the infant MJ was sitting in her crib, reaching up to the rattle her parents held above her. "There is a gap in your memories, MJ, and I have not been able to piece together exactly what happened during that gap."

MJ watched her younger self laugh as her mother lowered her head into the crib and gave her a raspberry. A moment ago MJ had seen this very woman lying on the ground, horribly mutilated, and gone.

"Stop…" She quietly said without realizing it.

Minnie had the realm shift back, not surprised to see her niece was getting quite upset. "MJ, I know this is all very confusing-" Minnie attempted to reach out to her but MJ quickly slapped her hand away.

"Stay away from me!" The child yelled as she jumped away from her. Minnie could see the anger in her face and the tears welling up in her eyes.

"MJ…"

"I said get away!" MJ screamed again as she turned and ran. However, there isn't really such a thing as distance within an alternate dreamworld, so as far as she ran she still ended up back with her aunt and the screens.

After letting her run a bit Minnie finally kneeled down and grabbed her, holding her tightly in her arms. MJ struggled greatly to get free.

"Let me go!"

Minnie didn't say anything. She just kept holding on.

"I don't want to listen to you anymore!" MJ said as she thrashed about, trying to push her away. "All this stuff you're showing me, it's a trick! My mom's not dead! I don't have any powers! I don't…I don't…" MJ's rage slowly became less vocal and she started to quietly sob. Minnie hugged her tightly and MJ made no resistance. "….I don't know what's going on…"

"I know…" Minnie said softly as she rubbed her niece's back, trying to help her calm down. The small child cried into her shoulder, pride not allowing her to show her face. "You've gone through so much today…. I wouldn't have shown you all this if I didn't think there'd be another way to get you out of here."

MJ let herself be held by her aunt for a few more minute before signaling to be let go, which Minnie complied. MJ sniffed a little and then started talking. "I saw…I saw my mother this morning…before Jacob and I left for the Nightosphere… but in that memory…it really looked…really felt like she…" MJ didn't want to say it and Minnie wasn't going to make her.

"As I said, I do not know what happened in that gap. Your father found a way, as he said he would. That is as best I can figure as to what happened. He found a way to keep your mother alive and suppress your powers enough to the point where he could seal them off. How he did all this…I can only guess."

MJ sniffed a little more before putting on a strong face. "So what happens now?"

"Now…your father needs your help." Minnie said. The screens changed to show Junior fighting against HIM and the ghost twins moments before MJ was taken by Bill. "I don't know what's happening in the Nightosphere right now, but I imagine my brother is still in battle with the demon's slaves, especially given what Bill said earlier to you."

"What does HIM want from my dad?" MJ asked.

"If I had to guess, he wants Junior to suffer." Minnie said. "Kare is burning away and he knows it. There is no force in existence that can save his soul, not even the power of death, meaning he has nothing left to lose. He's a mad dog now, biting and clawing at everything in reach, trying to bring everyone he can down with him. When he goes, he'll leave behind an heir who'll be forever tormented by his legacy. When he goes there'll be no one left to call Bill Cipher out of the Mindscape to bring you back, leaving you forever at his mercy. Whatever he's planning for your father will no doubt hurt him and everyone else HIM can possibly get within range of his scheme. We cannot allow it to happen."

"What do we do?"

"What we need to do is get you out of the Mindscape. And unfortunately, given that Bill is not likely to just release you, I can only think of one way to do it." Minnie stated heavily.

MJ said nothing, to show she was listening.

"I showed you your memory from the outside for a reason. Not only so you could see what you were capable of, but also because having you relive that memory may be the way for you to regain your powers."

"How?"

"The power you demonstrated was naturally born within you." Minnie explained. "You unleashed it on instinct whist still in your mother's womb." MJ's mind flashed with images of her mother lying bloody on the floor. She almost raised her hands to cover her eyes in grief until Minnie snapped her back to attention. "MJ, focus!" She did not want her to become lost within her sadness. The thought that she may have killed her own mother would make this plan much harder on the poor girl. "Your father may have sealed off your powers, through magic or some other means, I don't know, but you can't completely lock away something you're born with. You have a deep primal connection to your powers, MJ, and the best way for you to reconnect with that connection again is to relive your first memory, this time from the driver's seat."

MJ's grey eyes went wide. _"Reconnect…"_ She remembered the black beast towering over her, the thunder erupting from its throat. From her throat. All that power…

All that destruction…

"Are you sure it'll work?" She asked nervously.

"There's little doubt in my mind." Minnie stated. "My brother's seal keeps you from consciously accessing your powers, but your natural instinct can slip by it. And when your powers reactivate, the seal will break."

"And I'll be able to use my powers whenever?"

"More or less, yes."

MJ looked away from her aunt and tapped her fingers together, unsure of what to say.

"You are unsure if you should reactivate your powers again?" Minnie questioned.

MJ rubbed her neck. "Well…yes…"

Minnie smiled softly. "I am glad to hear to hear you say that. There are many who jump at the chance for power and do not consider the consequences of doing so."

MJ was quiet for a moment. "Will I be able to control my powers?"

Minnie's smile faded. "In all likelihood…no. Not this first time… Reliving your first memory, you'll be guided by your instincts from that time, which will not only unleash your powers but…"

"…Turn me into that mindless beast again." MJ finished for her.

Minnie nodded. "This is a choice only you can make, MJ. The demon's plan is to leave you stranded here forever so that your father will suffer for the sins of our mother. You have the power to stop HIM once and for all, you need only realize it. The power to shape the world is scary and Junior knows that all too well. He will be there to guide you and so will I, but you must be the one to take that first step. Have confidence in yourself, child. Like your father before you, fulfil your task…"

Minnie held out her hand to her niece. "…Fulfil your destiny."

* * *

The dreamworld shifted.

 _Dark._

 _Warm._

 _Outside there's…things…_

 _Hungry._

 _Trapped._

 _Break through._

 _It's bright._

 _Hungry._

* * *

Minnie watched as it happened. "May God help us all." She prayed softly, hoping that her wisdom was just and that she had not just doomed the poor girl and the rest of existence along with her.

In a flash of light Bill Cipher finally breached his way into the dreamworld.

"All right, about time. Now where is the little munchk-" Bill stopped as he saw the darkness towering over him and a dark shadow falling over him. "Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh…that's not good…"

Before he even tried to move the darkness snapped out its jaws and swallowed him within itself.

...

 **Meanwhile, in the depths of the Nightosphere:**

Junior dodged another ecto-blast from the twins. The burns on their bodies were glowing brighter by the minute. Their souls were slowly burning away.

HIM and Jacob still stood off to the side.

"Now, son, the first thing we're going to do is get you a Santa jacket. Trust me when I say bitches love the Santa jac-"

Bright light filled the dungeon, catching the attention of everyone within. When the yellow light ended they saw the ten year old redhead standing at the center.

"MJ?" Junior gasped.

"Dammit Bill! You had one job!" HIM cursed. In his surprise at the child's sudden appearance he didn't realize he'd let go of the demon vampire until he saw Jacob running over to his friend.

"MJ!" Jacob exclaimed. He hugged her tightly. "You're ok! I thought I'd never see you again!" He continued hugging her until he realized she wasn't saying anything or even moving at all. He let go of her. "MJ?"

She slowly tilted her head up, her eyes shut at first. But then she opened them, and her once colorless grey eyes were a black far darker than her skin. Junior saw this instantly.

"Oh no…"

Initially shocked by her eyes, Jacob hesitated to say something. "...MJ-?"

MJ threw back her head sharply and darkness erupted from her mouth, shooting straight up through the ceiling, causing the entire dungeon to start caving in.

As scared as the young vampire was, his father and the Grim Reaper were even more so, as they knew exactly what was happening.

"Time to go, kiddies!" HIM cried to the ghost twins. The decaying spirits grabbed onto the demon and they all turned intangible and phased through the floor as the ceiling started crashing down around them.

Jacob looked around in panic, unsure of what to do as debris fell and his best friend was the cause.

"MJ! What're you doing?!" He screamed as he grabbed her shoulders. She said nothing as the blackness spilled from her mouth. However darkness soon started spreading out from her arms and leg, encompassing her entire form until he couldn't see her anymore.

Jacob was then grabbed by the back of his shirt. He turned to see that it was Junior, dragging him away from MJ. The Reaper moved fast and quickly tore open a portal with his scythe, diving into it with Jacob in tow.

The two exited out on top of one of the tall buildings overlooking the Nightosphere. Though the portal closed Jacob could still make out the sounds of the dungeon's destruction off in the distance.

Junior let go of Jacob and rushed over to the edge of the building, looking towards the direction of the dungeon.

When Jacob finally composed himself he ran over to the Reaper. "Wait! What about MJ?! She's still back there! What's happening to-"

"Quiet!" Junior snapped, not looking towards him. Jacob looked up at Junior's face. The Nergal flesh that covered his face twitched nervously and grimaced and the young vampire could almost swear he saw the Reaper sweat. If he didn't know better Jacob would think that the Underworld Ruler was…scared.

Jacob looked to where the dungeon was. It wasn't hard to guess where it was, as blackness now spread skywards from the ground. The darkness started taking shape, forming a massive black torso. Two hulking arms crashed down into the ground, shaking the entire realm from the impact. Thousands of green eyes started to open all across the beast's body. Giant teeth formed across its chest.

Jacob looked at the creature with wide, terrified eyes. "What…what is that thing?!"

Junior gave him no answer. Wouldn't have mattered if he did, as the black beast widened its jaws and unleashed its deafening roar, declaring its domination over the burning, nightmarish land.

Junior's grip on his scythe was at its tightest. He cursed over and over again. He'd feared this moment for years. He'd never wanted to face this once again.

He stared with a shaking gaze at the massive black beast that towered over the Nightosphere.

Mimi Junior. The daughter of Death and Darkness. The Granddaughter of evil.

The first natural born Demon Reaper.

 **End of chapter**

* * *

Sorry about the wait on this chapter. I have been having some severe writer's block and with summer over I don't have as much free time to write as I used to. You can expect to see more Grim Tales stories in the future, but I'll likely post it after I finish Empire of Death. Anyone who has noticed that Minnie the Ascended is not being updated as quickly as I thought it would can probably guess that I've learned a lesson about posting stories I don't have many chapters lined up for. Anyway, thank you for your patience.

Also, my excuse for why Minimandy has been talking normally this whole time is because she knows MJ would not be able to understand her usual very formal and long winded way of talking and time was of the essence here.

So…yeah, a mental version has been living (or at least existing) with the mind of MJ and not only dumped a lot of exposition and history on her but also released MJ's Demon Reaper powers. I figured she'd be a Demon Reaper mainly because Junior is the original Demon Reaper and I'm not sure what to classify Chi and Aku as other than really powerful demons (of a different kind than HIM or Nergal, of course). While I'm not sure about how this chapter turned out I'd like to believe that I can at least do well with a giant monster rampaging in one of the Big Five realms, so we'll see.

In the style of AkumaKami64, who has been a big inspiration for me in my writing, I will now be doing a **questions to ponder** segment, as it may help me organize myself better and hear more about what you guys think. I've read some reviews on other stories and people do come up with some pretty cool ideas.

 **QTP:** Can Junior stop the monster that is his daughter for a second time? How powerful is MJ's Demon Reaper when it's got both Junior and Minnie scared? What's Hunson going to do about a giant Demon Reaper suddenly appearing in his realm? Is this the last we'll see of Bill Cipher? And what happened to Chi during the gap in MJ's memory?


	24. Prodigies, part 1

**Part 24: Prodigies, part 1**

* * *

 **Danny bombs:** I mean no disrespect, but I'm not entirely sure what you said. Sorry.

* * *

 **Chapter Start:**

The inhabitants of the Nightosphere caught sight of the massive Demon Reaper rather quickly. It towered over the land, the light of the eternal flames reflecting off its deep black skin. Many ran away at the sight of it while other stood still, dumbfounded, unable to comprehend the beast's size or even what it was that had suddenly appeared before them. The thousand eyes of the beast looked off in every direction, a single eye for nearly every person within the realm.

At first it was calm, the beast just stood there looking down at the realm.

One of the Nightosphere's demons looked around and decided that he should say something, given that no one else was.

"Soooo…does anyone know what that thin-"

The Demon Reaper let loose a massive roar, drowning out all other noise. The demons at first covered their ears to block out the noise, but soon something worse started to happen. Their bodies began to weaken and their flesh became thin. Many fell to the ground instantly as from their mouths the greenish-blue essence that was their souls was torn from them, flying into the maw of the howling monster. Its jaws opened up wide to take in as many as possible. From all across the realm the red sky lit up with the souls flying towards their devourer.

Still atop the building where Junior had taken them, Jacob watched in terror the monster that was once his best friend, his brain only somewhat comprehending the sight he was witnessing. His attention was only diverted away from the monster when he noticed that the flesh underneath Death's robe seemed to be spazzing out, like it was in pain.

"…Mr. Reaper?" Jacob looked at him with concern.

Junior held onto himself and forced the flesh to calm down. "I'm fine." The Reaper said, still not looking away from his daughter.

Souls brushed past the two at high speed as they flew over to the black beast. "What's going on?" Jacob asked as he watched more of his people collapse in the streets.

"MJ's a Demon Reaper, like me." Junior explained, no need to hold anything back as the cat was clearly out of the bag now. "The food of choice for a Demon Reaper is souls. This realm is basically an all-you-can-eat buffet for her."

"But…! But why is she-?"

Junior interrupted his question. "If this is anything like last time then I doubt she's aware of what she's doing. She's working on natural instinct right now and that instinct is telling her to eat." Both watched as the black beast took in more souls and seemed to grow even bigger, with its many eyes glowing a brighter green. Jacob could almost feel the power of the monster growing with every soul.

"If she's trying to eat every soul in the Nightosphere, how come we're not affected?" Jacob asked.

"Because I'm Death and you're an Abadeer." Junior stated.

Jacob looked at him. "Wha…what do you mean?"

Junior didn't answer. He just kept looking at the colossus his daughter had become. It wouldn't be too much longer until she'd finished eating every soul the realm had to offer her and after that he wasn't sure what she'd do. Whatever she would end up doing they might not be able to stop her at that point, not with the power all those souls would give her. There was one option Junior knew he could use. One that he'd thought of years ago. It would work far better than anything else and end this far quicker than when she was a baby. But he still hesitated. Going to him for help… it would confirm something many already suspected and leave his empire potential vulnerable. Showing a weakness his enemies could exploit…

The power of the black beast continued to build and Junior sighed. Now was not the time to worry about anything else. Just get his daughter back to normal. Years ago he'd massacred the old Hell to make sure she'd be safe. Going to him for help was no different.

Junior turned to Jacob. "Where's your grandfather?"

* * *

"Look, I'm just saying if you'd chosen weird punishment to begin with you wouldn't have had to go through all this." Hunson Abadeer said. He was in his throne room, speaking to one of his demon subjects who a moment ago had his bottom half vaporized and a moment later had his arms transformed into Ostrich heads that were now eternally pecking at him.

"Sir, with (ow!) all due (ow!) respect, I think your (ow!) daughter did a better job with the (ow!) P, P, or W(ow!)P system." The demon said between pecks.

"Yeah, she did, didn't she?" Hunson said, his smile beaming with pride.

As the demon used his torso to hop away Hunson turned to the line of his people. "All right, who's ne-"

The room then began to suddenly shake and the roof of the building was torn clean off, revealing the black beast looming overhead. The beast howled and the demons screamed as their bodies withered away and their souls flew towards the creature's mouth.

"Huh…" Hunson said as he stayed seated in his chair. "Well, that's not something you see every day."

After all the souls were taken from the throne room, the black beast turned away and continued to scour the realm for more. Hunson pondered for a minute about whether he should be offended that the beast didn't even seem to notice him, when from the side of the room a scythe portal tore open. Junior and Jacob exited from it.

"Grandpa!" Jacob exclaimed as he ran over to him.

"Jacob!" Hunson picked him up and held him high. "I didn't know you were coming by today! How's my favorite grandson doing?"

Jacob found he was unable to say much and just clung to his grandfather's torso, in desperate need of comfort after all he'd been through in the last hour. It didn't take Hunson long to see that his grandson was clearly upset over something and that was when he finally acknowledged Junior.

"Hello, Junior." The Nightosphere demon said in an unnervingly friendly manner. "What brings you to my realm this day?"

Junior pointed sharply upwards at the black beast, who was growing ever larger from its feast.

"Oh yeah…I've been meaning to say something about that." Hunson said casually.

"It's MJ." Junior explained begrudgingly.

Hunson raised an eyebrow, but didn't seem too surprised at this information. "Your little girl?" Hunson looked up at the monster. He shook his head and chuckled a little. "Ah…kids these days…they grow up so fast. …Though I have to wonder why she's doing her growing here of all places." Hunson shot the Reaper an accusational look.

Jacob stopped clinging to his grandfather and was about to explain when Junior spoke out. "You can thank your old buddy/son-in-wedlock Kare for that." Junior shot back venomously, letting Hunson know exactly what he'd found out.

Hunson didn't show any sign of surprise at Junior finding out this information, or at least he wasn't surprised that HIM had acted against Death's daughter. "Did you kill him?" Hunson asked.

"No, but I will next time I see him." Junior stated angrily. "I'd say Bill too, but I'm guessing MJ already took care of the bastard."

"She got Bill?" Hunson asked with only minor surprise. "Oh…we were going to watch the Cubs play these weekend. Keep their curse alive, you know?" The Reaper's eye twitched in annoyance.

There were many questions hanging in the air between the three of them, but Junior knew there was no time for any of them. Not yet.

"When this is over you're going to have a lot to answer for, Hunson." Junior glared. "But right now I need your help to stop MJ. And save your realm." Junior tacked on at the end.

"What do you want me to do?" He asked.

"You know _exactly_ what you can do."

Hunson looked at the Reaper for a minute before gazing upwards at the black beast, a small smile on his face. "Yes…I suppose I do."

* * *

The Demon Reaper stopped inhaling, the stream of souls now finally at its end. Its size now dwarfed that of the Nightosphere. A single one of its footsteps could crush any number of the realms structures without even meaning to and its heavy breathing vibrated throughout the land itself.

" _There are more…"_ The monster thought to itself. A single thought in a chaos of instinct. It stood still, its thousand eyes looking off in every direction. It was looking for something and it could feel that there were more of… _something_ … around. It just couldn't find it. It just needed to-

"Hey!"

The Black Demon Reaper sat up slightly at sound of the voice that had broken the quiet its feast had created. It looked around, even turning its body side to side, to try and find the source, but it couldn't see it.

"Down here!" The voice called again.

All of the creature's eyes shifted downward. On the ground, yards from its feet, stood a light-blue man in a dark business suit, waving up at the beast.

"Hello, MJ. It's me, Hunson. You remember? Jacob's grandpa? I don't think we've actually talked all that often, if I'm to be honest." He yelled up so it could hear him. "How're you doing today?"

Though the beast was looking at him dead-on, its many eyes twitched and shifted around slightly, like if it wasn't for the Underworld Lord's movements, the beast wouldn't even be able to tell he was there.

"You enjoying my realm?" Hunson asked. "Now…I'm not saying I'm mad…but while I know the souls of my realm can be tasty…believe me, I've tried them myself…it's not very courteous of a guest to just start eating everything without asking first. That's very poor manners, young lady. What would your parents have to say?"

Still, even while the sound came out, the Black Beast could not recognize its source. This man…it was something new to the creature…something it didn't understand. So naturally, the beast did what anyone would do when presented with something it didn't understand: it tried to kill him.

The beast let out a massive roar and threw down its massive fist right onto the demon, the impact sending a shockwave throughout the realm powerful enough to make the buildings jump. Dust and rocks flew from the impact spot like a mushroom cloud. The creature lifted its hand away from the spot and was about to move away when the dust cleared and revealed Hunson, still standing, about three feet from where it had struck.

"You know, I suppose that could be something your parents would say." The demon commented as the black beast just stared with incomprehension. Hunson smirked slightly. "So…you really can't see me, can you?"

The ruler of the Nightosphere started slowly laughing a dark laugh as his head began to split down the middle. From this split inflated a massive, bulbous head with two horns atop it, two wide dark blue eyes, and a vertical slit for a mouth. From underneath this new head emerged several black tentacles with fingers. Still having as much recognition of this being as before, the Black Beast attacked again, sending its fist down to crush him.

But Hunson open his mouth and inhaled as the fist got close. From the beast's arm, several souls were suddenly ripped from the creature's body, causing it to quickly back off from its attack as it squealed in its sudden pain. The souls entered Hunson's maw and he swallowed them into his inner soul sack. He then advanced on the Black Beast. The creature roared as a warning to stay away, like any animal would, but Hunson opened his mouth again and inhaled, tearing more souls from the beast's flesh.

The creature howling in pain again. As more souls left it the creature began to shrink down. In contrast, with every soul Hunson recovered he grew larger. In an effort to save itself, the beast grabbed one of the Nightospere's buildings and threw it at the demon. Hunson stopped inhaling so he could (literally) yell out "Karate chop!" as he chopped the building in half with one of his tentacle hands.

Using this brief second to recover, the Black Demon Reaper stood its ground, keeping its distance from Hunson. While it still could not recognize him it was able to sense where he was due to the souls he now carried. Like a hurt dog, the black Beast growled at the demon, warning it not to come any closer.

Hunson, now roughly on equal size as the beast, was not indimidated.

" **Those souls are mine!"** He yelled as he charged forward and tackled the monster.

Junior stood off in the distance on a rooftop, biding his time until the right moment to join in. Watching his Demon Reaper daughter struggle to keep in the souls being ripped from her by the Nightosphere lord, he couldn't help but remember some of the last words his mother had said to him all those years ago.

" _It's amazing how willing to remain ignorant people are."_

She said these words to him when she explained (bragged about) how she killed his father, which was something that should be impossible and yet no one questioned it. In a way this rule stayed true during his reign as well. Junior had killed Queen Mandy, something that should be even more impossible than killing Death, and yet Junior had never once heard anyone question how he did it. Interestingly enough, the answer was almost as simple as how Mandy killed Grim.

His mother was immortal, yes, as evidenced by the many powerful and dark demons that tried and failed to take her life. Not everyone knew the story behind it, that Grim had refused to take Mandy's life and thus she just kept going, continuing to live because the option of dying was off the table. Those who knew this secret developed a misconception about her immortality. They believed that Mandy was immortal because not even Death could kill her, but the truth was actually the very opposite: due to Grim's actions, Mandy became a being that **only** Death could kill, as it was Death that held her life in his hands. And as the son of Grim, Junior fit these terms.

Mandy killed Grim because Death cannot be living. Junior killed Mandy because the best way to end a life is with Death. So why did Junior, the new Death, have a problem with Hunson Abadeer?

Again, the answer is simple: Hunson Adadeer is deathless.

This is different from being immortal. Immortal is "forever living". Deathless is "never dying". In short, Hunson Abadeer is a being Death has no power over. A being Death can never kill.

And it gets even worse for Junior in particular.

Hunson's ability to steal souls is second to none, having no need for deals or pass through any mediums to get them. Even Junior has to use a scythe or a one of the blades he spawns from himself to tear out a soul. All Hunson has to do is breath hard. And the reverse cannot be done to him. Hunson has his own free will and mind and yet no soul of his own to speak of. No soul of his own to be taken from him.

He cannot be killed and he cannot be reaped.

Hunson Abadeer, in a manner of speaking, is the only natural enemy of the Demon Reaper.

The Black Demon Reaper was reduced to being just barely larger than the buildings surrounding it, the same souls that had once feed its hunger now in the soul sack of the colossal Hunson. The monster tried in vain to attack but Hunson simply backhanded it, smacking it away from him. The Beast fell over and attempted to crawl away. Hunson advanced on it.

Junior's wings spread out so he could take flight. The Black Demon Reaper was weak enough now for him to try and get his daughter back. After that…Junior wasn't even going to try and think of all the crap that this incident will cause. He was still amazed his uncle ever forgave him after what he did to his town.

He flew forwards to the battle and was about to yell at Hunson to back off, when he suddenly felt woozy. It lasted for only a second but it was enough for the Reaper to stop flying and hover so he could steady himself. When he regained his senses he looked back towards Hunson, who had one of his tentacle hand over his enormous forehead, as though he'd just suffered the same wooziness as Junior. As he steadied himself, Junior saw two of the buildings that stood next to Hunson turn pitch black.

"Hunson! Look out!" Junior yelled.

Hunson looked to his sides just a second too late, as the black buildings suddenly jumped him, spawning massive green teeth that they sank into the ruler. Hunson let out a quick yelp of pain before starting to punch the creatures to try and get them off. But their jaws held tight and they wouldn't budge. Junior flew in to help him, but another of the buildings turned into an imitation of the Black Demon Reaper and intercepted him, smacking him to the ground. Junior bounced once on the hard red stone and then landed back on his feet. The imitation stood before him and roared. This roar was cut short as Junior rocketed himself forwards, cutting through its center with a wave of his scythe, and flew back towards the real Black Demon Reaper.

The beast was still trying to scurry away and put more distance between it and the currently distracted Hunson. Junior's wings sharpened and he flew faster towards it, not willing to allow this fight to continue on any longer. The creature's many eyes saw the Reaper coming at it and the buildings along the street it crawled all then transformed into imitations. The multiple imitations gathered in front of Junior's path and blocked him off from the original.

"Get out of my **WAY!** " Junior let loose his Ghostly Wail again, the sonic scream cutting clean through a few in the front and demolished them. The imitations of the Black Demon Reaper it seemed were not as strong as the real one, as Junior knew from experience that the wail wouldn't do nearly as much damage, even to a weakened one. However, the imitations, as usually is the case in these situations, had numbers on their side, as even with a few destroyed there were still several left now running at the Reaper, blocking even his view of the original. Junior gritted his teeth and dove into the onslaught of black flesh and green teeth, spinning and slashing his way through. At one point one of them swallowed him. A second later it started to glow green and then it exploded, Junior jumping out from its remains to slash another down the middle.

Junior eventually made it through enough of the parade of killer homes to see the Black Demon Reaper again. It was no longer trying to flee. In fact it was standing just barely a few yards away, and seemed to be supporting itself with a giant walking stick made from its own flesh. Junior was confused right up until the moment a long, curved, green blade began to emerge from the top of the staff.

"Oh shit…"

Grasping the staff of its new weapon with both giant black hands, the beast swung its makeshift scythe in an upwards stoke with incredible strength, cutting (or perhaps simply forcing its way through) the ground like it was water as the blade sped towards Junior.

Unable to get out of the way in time, instinct is what saved him, as Junior threw his scythe in front of him, catching the massive blade with his own and keeping himself from taking the hit. But while an imitation scythe was no match for the real thing, the real thing does still have its limits. A shockwave of energy was sent out as the two weapons clashed, the force of which knocked Junior clean away from the Black Demon Reaper and yards away into Hunson. Junior, being the size of a small phone in comparison, hit the Nightosphere ruler with enough force to knock him off his feet and land flat on his back. Thankfully, the force of the impact also threw the two imitations chewing on him off as well.

" **Hey Junior."** Hunson said as he tried to get the wind back that had just been knocked out of him.

"Hey Hunson." Junior said back, with the same "F this day" tone as he was lying on Hunson's reinflating stomach.

" **You didn't know she could make mini-me's of herself, did you?"** He asked casually.

"No. That's new. So the scythe."

" **Well, that doesn't bode well, does it?"** Hunson said as he picked Junior off him as he got back up.

"No. No, it does not." Junior said with a groan as he stood. They were surrounded on all sides by imitations, each bearing large green teeth and itching at the chance to bite into them. The original stayed where it had knocked Junior away from, not wanting to get too close to Hunson.

" **I don't suppose you have any forces you could call in to help?"** Hunson asked as he and Junior stood back-to-back (more like back-to-heel, but whatever). **"Perhaps the girl's mother to give her a time out?"**

"Anyone I bring in will basically be more food for that thing." Junior said. "We can't risk it getting any stronger than it already is, especially not when we have to keep wasting energy on these guys."

Hunson looked around at the imitations. **"Well, one bit of good news. Unlike your daughter, the two that were on me didn't try and go after my soul sack. Either they don't think they can succeed in opening it or they can't eat souls like she can."**

"So basically they're cannon fodder?" Junior asked.

" **If I had to give a phrase to them, yeah."**

" **Fine then!"** Junior roared as he let loose another Ghostly Wail at the imitations. It was dangerous to use this ability so much in one day, even for him, but he couldn't afford to worry about that right now.

As Junior took on his fair share, Hunson blasted fire from his many hands, cutting through all the imitations that approached him. Without even needing to exchange words with Junior, Hunson knew what to do and charged at the real Black Demon Reaper. More imitations appeared from nowhere to defend it, but Hunson blasted through them easily now that he was prepared for them. When he reached the Black Demon Reaper the monster swung its scythe at him and Hunson's many hands caught it by the staff. He was about to start sucking, but the Black Demon Reaper raised its left arm up to the ruler's face and suddenly it transformed into a cannon.

" **What?"** Hunson said in stunned surprise.

" **WHAT?!"** Junior yelled in shocked surprise.

With the power of a small atomic bomb, the beast's arm cannon blasted Hunson at point blank range. Hunson was thrown back by the force, but that wasn't the worst of it. Taken completely off guard by such an intricate transformation by such an instinctual creature, Hunson had not protected his soul sack well enough and the blast cut through it, releasing some of the souls within, which the beast happily devoured back into itself, increasing its size back up to that of a 2014 Godzilla.

The blast was nowhere near enough to take Hunson out, but it did knock him down long enough for the imitations to start dogpiling him. Junior, still a little shaken by this new ability, dove in to try and help him, but was also jumped by the imitations. Being smaller than Hunson made it easier to dodge the large creatures, but the sheer number of them made it impossible for the Reaper to not run into more.

" _Where are they all coming from?!"_ Junior thought as he cut through another and found himself facing three more. _"How is she doing all this?!"_ The imitations were all around him, like a nighttime sky that bites. They were all over him, swarming him and smothering him to the point where he couldn't gain enough moment to swing his scythe with any effectiveness. The last thing he saw before being consumed by the masses of black flesh and green teeth was the Black Demon Reaper preparing to fire again at the Nightosphere ruler that the imitations had pinned down.

" _MJ…no…."_

It was dark.

And then Junior felt a hand grab his.

"I've got you."

Junior's head tilted towards the voice. _"That voice…"_

The hand that grabbed his pulled him upwards and out of the mass of black monsters, back into the red, flaming lights of the Nightosphere. The one who saved him, a woman in a long green and white dress, red leggings, long beautiful blond hair, Junior recognized her by none of these features. He recognized her instantly by her eyes. The soft, faded grey eyes he saw every time he looked in a mirror.

Junior's jaw hung open, struck completely speechless as they flew through the air, out of the imitations' reach. His voice sounded like it was about to crack as he attempted to speak. But soon his face changed to a sullen sadness.

"You're not really her, are you?" He asked.

Her face matched his own. "No…I am not."

The two landed on a nearby rooftop, one of the few that had not yet been turned into an imitation. As soon as they touched down Junior took his hand out of hers. "If you're not Minnie, then who, or what, are you?" He asked.

"I am an implanted representation of Minimandy that resides within MJ's mind." She explained simply.

"Like Nergal Senior?" He asked as he looked back over to where the Black Demon Reaper was (almost comically) shooting Hunson again and again in the face.

"Aye." She nodded "Just as I explained to her, I exist within the mind of every Nergal spawned from Minnie, or by extension her powers."

"That's going to be an awkward conversation when we get home." Junior said under his breath. "So how are you here pulling me out of demon-housepiles if you're a mental projection?"

"You're daughter appears to have taken on the abilities of Bill Cipher after she ate him."

This took a moment to sink in for Junior. "…F**k…" He squeezed the space between his eyes and seemed to utter every curse word he knew and a few he made up, most directed at whatever God or universe Bill spawned from. When he was done, he asked "So…what? We're hallucinating?"

"Not quite that simple, but in a manner of speaking, yes." Minnie explained. "Outside of the Mindscape the Dream Demon has little power and no physical form, so he must project himself into the minds of others to be seen. MJ seems to be taking this ability a step further and projected a pack of sorts to protect her. I suppose family would be fairly instinctual to a Nergal, even a quarter one."

"Explains why it looked like the buildings were turning into those things. That was probably the closest our minds could come to understanding where they came from." Junior theorized. He then cast a sideways glare at her. "Being a part of her mind, I'm guessing that's how you're projecting yourself here and were able to pull be out, because I see you as being about as real as those things. Real enough to where I think they can actually hurt me or I can hurt them. …And being part of her mind, perhaps you can tell me how her Demon Reaper powers got released."

Minnie did her best to meet his gaze. "I released them, using her memory from when she first became this creature."

"Why?" Junior asked with a severe harshness in his tone, making it clear that he was trying very hard not to lose his temper.

"Bill was going to torment the poor girl into insanity. I had no other option to save her." Minnie defended.

"You had literally any other option than the one you chose!" Junior yelled at her. "You could have tried to protect her from him!"

"Even in the alternate dreamworld my abilities would be no match for the Dream Demon's." Minnie argued. "Had the choice been up to you, what would you have done?" She asked sharply. "Would you have safeguarded the Underworld or would you have protected your child?"

"How dare you ask me that?!" Junior roared, doing nothing to hold back his rage now, his fury causing Minnie to almost jump back with fright. "If you are truly part of her mind, of her memories, then you know what I had to do last time to stop her!"

"…I do not, actually." Minnie said, careful to try and ease his anger.

"You…" Junior blinked. "You don't?"

Minnie shook her head. "I do not know because she does not know. There is a gap in her memory from that day, between when you began to fight the creature she became and her infancy."

Junior straightened himself and regained his composure, calming himself down a few levels. "Well, at least that explains why you thought releasing her powers was feasible option."

Minnie crossed her arms at him. "I realize the direness of the situation, Junior."

"No, I don't think you do." Junior shot back.

"I took a calculated risk when I decided to help MJ regain her powers." Minnie defended. "Through the memory that did remain of that time, I have seen that her powers are easily greater than that of the Demon Reaper that destroyed our uncle's beloved town, and yet clearly you still found a way to stop her. And unlike last time, you have Hunson Abadeer at your side. She is vulnerable because of his power. She may have some of the Dream Demon's abilities, but I can help you fight through these deceptions. We can-"

"Two weeks." Junior said.

Minnie blinked for a moment. "…What?"

"Two weeks." He repeated. "That's how long that gap in MJ's memory is. I know because that's how long I fought with her." Minnie was quiet, trying to wrap her head around this period of time as Junior continued. "Two weeks of continuous nonstop battle until she completely exhausted through her supply of souls and was weak enough for me to finally stop her. I couldn't afford to let up even for a minute or she could try and recover. Try to howl out for more souls of the Underworld to feed herself. It took everything I had just to keep her from going beyond the limits of Castle Grimskull. During those two weeks, I nearly died. Not from the sands in my hourglass running out. Not from some magic water pistol designed to kill Death. Not even from an anti-soul bomb. I was nearly killed by a creature so powerful that nearly beat me death with its own two hands. And in order to stop her, I had to do the same to her. …I had to fight like I was going to kill my own daughter on the day she was born…"

Minnie had no words. She never knew…never could have known…what he went through. She wanted to reach out and touch his shoulder, to try and comfort him, but he silently just brushed her hand off him.

"If I lose my daughter for real this time…" Junior breathed. "…I'll never forgive you or your damn species for all the trouble and hardship you've caused me over the years…and I'll never forgive you for the memory of my sister you tainted."

"Brother…I…"

"Don't call me that." Junior stated.

The hurt on the mental Minnie's face was very visible, but she straightened her expression to a more neutral tone. "I'm sorry, Lord Death."

Junior turned back to the battle. "Help me save Hunson." He ordered and flew off. Minnie nodded silently and followed close behind.

Hunson was still lying on the ground, with the imitations still dogpiling him, with the Black Demon Reaper still shooting him in a face. He was prepared for the blasts, so unlike the first time his soul sack was undamaged and the beast could not claim the prize it wanted from him. So the most these shots amounted to was being very irritating.

The beast was about to fire again when Junior swooped in and cut off one of its legs, the lack of balance allowing the recoil of the cannon to knock the monster over and fall down. Minnie came in and touched Hunson's forehead, causing the imitations to vanish from his sight.

" **Hello, Minimandy."** Hunson said.

Minnie gave a small bow. "Lord Abadeer."

Hunson got back up. **"I thought you were destroyed."**

Minnie opened her mouth to speak but Junior interrupted. "No time for explanations." He said as he watched the Black Demon Reaper reattach its leg. "Here's the summery: MJ ate Bill and is using his power to project enemies into our minds so convincing that they can cause us pain. You suck out all the souls she has trapped within her, including Bill's, then we might be able to end this. I'll protect you from MJ's attacks and she'll protect you from the imitations in your head. Any questions?"

Hunson thought for a second. **"No, that seems to cover everything."**

"GO!" Junior yelled as he sped forward.

Minnie held on to the top of Hunson's enormous head, his eyes glowing grey as she cleared his sight. He could still see the imitations, but they were like translucent phantoms to him. He could tell they weren't actually there.

Hunson charged forwards, following closely behind Junior. When he got close enough Junior let loose the Ghostly Wail at a close enough range to make the beast's skin crawl and make it hard for it to think. Lashing out in confusion, the beast swung its scythe at the Reaper. But Junior easily saw the attack coming and avoided the blade, flying past it and using his own scythe to cut the massive weapon in half at the pole. Distracted by the loss of its weapon, the Black Demon Reaper was taken off guard by Hunson's fire blasts. The blasts fell the creature, allowing Hunson jump on top and to pin it down. Not wasting any time, Hunson opened his vertical mouth and sucked, the wind-force like a hurricane to anything smaller than them.

The beast struggled greatly against the ruler, spawning extra limbs to stab and shot at him and calling forth more imitations to try and get him off. But the imitations passed harmlessly through Hunson, as his mind no longer saw them as real, and though the beast's real attacks did hurt, they could never kill a Deathless being. It was over.

" _Hopefully."_ Was the word Junior subconsciously said to himself as he watched Hunson yet again tearing the souls of the realm away from the Black Demon Reaper. As far as he could tell, there were no other surprises the beast could pull out.

The very presence of Minnie's mental projection answered a lot of questions Junior had developed throughout the battle. The beast being able to create something as complex as the gun arm made sense if MJ was connected to some kind of Nergal memory network. Creating it wasn't hard if she was mimicking his godfather. In fact that's how Junior himself had learned to control some of his Nergal abilities, by his Nergaling and himself accessing the same network. It wasn't always easy, most of the time the only memories they could access were those of his sister and a few from Nergal Jr. But still, all that knowledge at its disposal and being able to instinctively do things that it took even a trained General Nergal to use, no wonder the beast had been giving them so much trouble.

More tentacles spread from the Black Demon Reaper's body to impale the ruler. They went straight through his body, but with the number of souls he had consumed, he didn't even seem to register the pain and just kept sucking. Despite any reaction on Hunson's part, the beast kept at its impalement. At first Junior thought it was going after the soul sack, but the tentacles were aiming too low, attacking more around his neck-tie area, where his throat used to be before he transformed.

Junior couldn't help but wonder why there of all places, but then he remembered.

"HUNSON! GET AWAY FROM HER, NOW!"

Hunson looked over to the Reaper in confusion and that's when the beast finally found its target. Impaling right through his tie, one of the beast's tentacles wrapped around a purple rhombus-shaped gem that hung barely visible along the ruler's neck by a gold chain. The appendage ripped the gem away from him, and as the necklace left his body the blackness of his business suit and his enormous head and body were sucked to within the gem, leaving behind the normal sized Hunson Abadeer, in a white undershirt, boxers, and red boots.

Hunson fell safety back to the ground and looked up at the black monster. "Well…that's not good…"

The tentacle holding the gem receded back into the beast's body. The Black Demon Reaper had been sensing the gem's power when its predator attacked it. Now, that power was its.

The Black Demon Reaper roared with pain as it began to glow with a purple aura and its body began to swell. It began to grow tremendously in size and its torso region became a more rounded shape. Stunned slightly, Hunson did not move until he found Junior grabbing him by the shoulder and throwing him into a scythe portal. Junior jumped in after and Minnie followed.

Like before, Junior transported everyone to another rooftop, one with a clear view of the monster. An unfortunately very clear view, as the beast continued to grow, stopping only once it had reached nearly the size of a small mountain, and with the weight to match, as its presence began to collapse the streets of the Nightosphere. Some grey leaked into the beast's coloring, making the front of its torso (mainly below the massive teeth) look like it was wearing a tie.

"What-…what's happening to her?" Minnie asked as she stared at the massive black monster.

"Your daughter seems to have eaten the Nightosphere Amulet." Hunson said evenly to Junior. "I suppose that's about as effective as wearing it, or at least it seems to be."

"Nightosphere Amulet?" Minnie asked for clarification.

"It's what gives me the majority of my powers." He explained. "The soul sucking, the incredible strength, lasers, the works. Only things I have left are my deathlessness and my martial arts skills."

"So all that power…all those souls that you reacquired…"

"…Are now in her, yes."

Junior turned to look at Hunson. "Something that powerful wouldn't just be something anyone could take. It has to have some kind of security system." He pointed out.

"It does…in a manner of speaking." Hunson added.

"How so?"

Hunson looked back to the slightly pulsating Black Demon Reaper, standing strangely still. "Well, the amulet fills the wearer, or in this case the devourer, with Chaotic Evil, making them fairly demonic and destructive and all the powers that come with that. But it's a little like the Devil's Essence in a way. Devil's Essence is the power of sin and if you aren't already full of sin, like HIM, then it can be very painful or hard to control. So if you wear the amulet and are not already full of chaotic evil, you could-"

The Black Demon Reaper roared at the top of its non-existent lung, the thunderous sound shaking the entire realm and traveling for miles across and below it. When the roar started to lessen the beast took one massive hand and started swiping at the buildings under it, taking out entire blocks in a few strokes and turning the streets upside-down. With its other hand it started to form a massive ball of green energy (which it no doubt learned from fighting Junior earlier) and threw it fastball style into the distance. Where it landed could not be seen, but the shockwave from it went sailing past seconds later like a quick typhoon.

"…that. You could that." Hunson finished. "…Hope she didn't just hit my car."

"You have a car?" Junior asked, more out of habit than intention.

"What? I have hobbies."

"Tch. No you don't."

The Black Demon Reaper finally stopped smashing the city and paced itself for a minute. It stood still, like it was trying to feel out for something.

"What's she doing?" Minnie asked. "Is she trying to find more souls?"

"Ordinarily, I'd probably guess the same thing, but she's pretty much got them all." Hunson said. "Jacob and I don't have souls, Junior's hiding his, HIM's on his way out and wouldn't be much of a meal, and, as far as I can tell, you aren't actually here. There isn't enough presence for her to think there are any more here."

Minnie gazed at the massive beast and then at Junior, who seemed to have a very peculiar expression on his face. Like he was so close to realizing what the beast was doing but just couldn't put his finger on it.

Finally the Black Demon Reaper moved again. It extended its arm out and from its open palm a long staff started to extend downwards to the ground. When the staff stopped growing, a colossal scythe blade extended out from its top, a giant green eye connecting the staff and blade.

"…No…" Junior said so quietly he could barely hear it himself.

The beast took its scythe and swung it forwards with both hands. It did not hit the ground. Instead the blade seemed to catch on the air and break through reality. As the scythe went down, the space in front started to slowly tear open and lead to somewhere new.

"NO!" Before anyone knew what was happening Junior had leapt from the rooftop and dove at the beast at near supersonic speed. He went straight for the scythe and cut right through it, along with the majority of the creature's arm. The beast roared in fury but Junior paid it no attention. He stuck his own scythe into the hole and flew upwards, using the momentum to actually seal the tear in reality.

One the hole was sealed, a black shadow fell over Junior's sight, as the hand of the beast slammed down on him, crushing him into the ground, sending a dust cloud up for miles from the force. And from out of that dust cloud suddenly three Junior's emerged, each coming out at a different angle. The change in tactics and number confused the Black Demon Reaper, as even with its many eyes it wasn't sure which way to look. The Juniors took advantage of this momentary distraction to throw back their hands to their side and gather as much ecto-energy as they could before firing simultaneously in a powerful green blast, which the beast took head-on.

As Hunson and Minnie watched the clash, a fourth Junior suddenly appeared before them on the rooftop.

"Other realms. That's what it was sensing." The Junior said, clearly sweating from the stress and pressure. "There were no more here, so it just had to find someplace else. And I used the damn scythe portal right in front of it earlier." He said this last part as if he was scolding himself.

Hunson watched as the beast shook off the blast and picked up its dismembered arm, reattaching it with ease. "You must be truly desperate to be using the ghost duplication technique." He commented. "They've got to be at a quarter strength right now, if not lower."

"I am desperate." Junior said to Hunson with a glare. "That's why I can't afford to hold back anymore."

Minnie blinked at him. "…What do you mean?" She was almost afraid to ask.

Junior barely paid her any mind. "If it leaves the Nightosphere…if it devours any more souls…it'll be unstoppable." He stated. "I'm the only one left who has any chance of ending this."

Minnie was silence for almost a minute, not knowing what to say. "Junior…she could kill you..." There was a second part to this sentence that she couldn't bring herself to say. It was obvious why Junior had been holding back at all against such a powerful being. _"…or you could kill her."_

When Junior didn't respond, Minnie said "I'll fight along with you. If she can still manage to create illusions-"

"No." Junior shot down instantly. "You'll only slow me down."

Minnie was almost taken aback by this statement. "Slow you-…I am a mental projection. I literally move at the speed of thought!" She argued.

"Exactly." Junior said simply. As Minnie was struck silent by this remark, Junior turned to Hunson. "Can you still get out of this realm without your powers?"

"I have a few back doors here and there." He said casually.

"If I fail, take Jacob and get to Castle Grimskull. Tell my wife what's happened." He explained. Whether it was intended or not, an emphasis was placed on the word "wife", an emphasis that caused Minnie to feel a small pain in her heart. "We have a…contingency plan that we came up with years ago…in case this happened again. It should still work. She'll know what to do."

Hunson nodded. "Sounds good. But what makes you think she'll stay in the Nightosphere long enough for you to fight her?"

"I have something it wants." He said simply before flying back to the battle.

The fourth Junior joined back up with the others. They floated above the Black Demon Reaper, who seemed undamaged by the previous attack. Even the two halves of its fleshy scythe was moving on its own and putting itself back together.

The four Juniors fused back together into one. As he floated there he took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. His eyes glowed their brightest green, as did the light from the tears in his robe. As he glowed the beast's head-torso shot straight up to look at him, like a dog to a laser pointer, completely captured in attention.

"That's right. You can feel them, can't you?" Junior said calmly to the creature. "All the souls I've devoured throughout the years of my afterlife. All the beings I've taken within to fuel my power. The only things you can think enough about to actually want."

The Black Demon Reaper continued to stare at the Grim Reaper, almost in awe. Not even from the predator had it felt such a pure concentration of souls. It almost wasn't sure what to do now that it found this bounty.

"You're only like this because you're my daughter, MJ." Junior said. "…I'm sorry. But I'm going to cut you out of this thing and get you back home…if it's the last thing I do."

The beast did not register his words. It barely remembered that this man was her father. It barely remembered that it had ever once been called MJ.

Junior readied his scythe and clenched it tightly. "You want to feed your hunger? You want these souls? **Then come get them!** "

 **Chapter end.**

* * *

Author's notes: Holy cow, this chapter was longer than I thought it was going to be and it's still not technically done since there's a part 2. Sorry about that.

Also, sorry for the wait on some of these chapters. I'm trying to build more of a backlog of finished chapters on my computer so that I can release multiple one closer together and have more time to check for any spelling mistakes/plot holes that I might initially miss. Still, thank you guys for your patience with me.

So, you know that old saying: Nothing's ever so bad that it can't get worse? Well I'd say a Demon Reaper eating Bill Cipher and the Nightosphere amulet, as well as the population of an entire realm may uphold that saying.

I am curious as to what people think of the reason for why Junior has been so cautious of Hunson Abadeer. Given that Junior is Death and Hunson is deathless, I figured there could be an interesting dynamic there. And I will be doing more with that later, so don't worry.

The imitations of the Black Demon Reaper, in case I phrased it badly, work on the theory where if you think something can hurt you, it can, and if you think you can hurt it, you can, because it's technically in their head.

As always, please post any thoughts, comments, reviews, or questions you have, I will be more than happy to read them and get back to you if I can. Thank you.

 **QTP:** Is Junior right to be so cautious of Hunson? Can Junior stop the monster his daughter has become or is this the end of the Empire of Death (hey, title drop, cool)? Will Junior kill her to do it? Why is Junior being such a dick to mental Minnie? And wow, I've gone quite a few chapters with having a non-flashback Chi in them, haven't I?


	25. Prodigies, part 2

**Part 25: Prodigies, part 2**

 **Emeraldalex123:** Don't worry, I've heard far worse puns. To answer your wondering, Junior's plan will be revealed later in the story. All I can tell you right now is that it's not something he ever wants to do.

 **Guest from Nov. 14:** I'm glad you like it, but a reading of what?

 **Chad0615:** Thank you for saying that. And don't worry, I am planning on doing something with Mandy later in the story. But I can't reveal what or how just yet, so stay tuned.

 **tylermech66:** Thank you for posting as you read through the story. Not everyone does that and it really helps me know what people are thinking and if I'm doing well on something, which is why I always encourage anyone who reads my stories to post a review. Don't know if you've read through the whole thing yet, but hopefully when you get to this chapter it'll be a pleasant surprise. Keep on posting, my friend.

And funny enough, I posted chapter 20 immediately after posting chapter 19 for the sole reason of I was afraid MJ and Jacob would seem like complete morons for even considering HIM's deal if I didn't offer at least some kind of explanation why.

* * *

 **Chapter start:**

The black-winged Junior dove at the monster like a bullet from the sky. Though a creature of instinct, the Black Demon Reaper was aware enough to realize that it was being attacked, by a being of very great power no less. Junior's scythe hit the arm of the beast but did not go through it. It was not going to allow itself to be cut again while its guard was up. Spikes burst from the creature's arm to impale him, but Junior quickly flew back, out of their reach.

Transforming his free arm into a cannon, he fired repeatedly at the Black Demon Reaper, the explosions of incendiary ectoplasm lighting up the beast's hide with green flames. The monster's skin slithered and put out the flames, giving no indication that it hurt at all. It opened its mouth up wide and began to suck air in, the power of the Nightosphere amulet increasing the beast's soul sucking abilities to the point where the entire realm felt like it was starting to break away, like it was near the center of a black hole.

Junior could feel the beast's trying to rip the souls out of him and started being pulled towards the creature's massive open maw. This was fine. Junior could tell just by looking that this gave him a small opening.

Using the ghost multiplication technique, Junior began to copy himself. By two. By four. By eight. By sixteen and so on until fighting against the beast's inhale was a cloud of hundreds of Juniors. Each took in a deep breath of their own and let loose the Ghostly Wail. Unlike all his other powers, the Ghostly Wail was also a sound attack and its power was not limited solely to how much energy he had left. In fact this ability was far more powerful as a group attack than it could ever be when done by a single Junior, as proven when the power of the attack struck the beast and knocked it clear off its feet. The crash when the beast hit the ground was barely felt next to the realm's quaking from the wail. Everything behind and near the creature was absolutely decimated as the ghost attack cut through everything in range. Even the far more durable Black Demon Reaper was clearly in pain from the attack.

Unfortunately, while the power of the wail is not limited to energy, the time it lasts for is, and with each Junior having barely 1/100 of the power of the original, the wail lasted only a few seconds.

As the doppel-Juniors began to disappear and give their remaining energy back to the original, the Black Demon Reaper, slightly dazed, started getting back up. It had not been expecting an attack anywhere near that powerful and even in its chaotic mindset it was slightly cautious of attacking him again.

Junior launched himself at the beast again. This time the Black Demon Reaper countered with its own scythe. Despite its massive size, the creature swung it with such speed it was as though it had little weight.

The giant scythe went to meet the Grim Reaper, but he vanished just before it made contact. The eyes on the creature's back saw the scythe portal open right behind it, but the beast could not react in time, and Junior, upon exiting the portal, cut a large gash into its back. Not giving it any time to heal itself, Junior fired his arm cannon directly and repeatedly into the wound he'd made, causing the beast to howl out in pain.

Junior got a few good shots in before he was forced to back off. Several purple and black tentacle hands came forth and tried to grab him, causing him to leap back to avoid them.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw something come at him and flew sharply upwards to avoid it. When he got high enough he looked back down, seeing the object he avoided to be a second Black Demon Reaper that had spawned behind him during his attack. From these two Black Demon Reapers spawned two more, making it clear that the beast had observed enough of Junior's Ghost Multiplication to figure out how to do it itself.

If anyone other than the beast(s) had been close enough, they would have seen Junior smirk.

Through the mass of tentacles that attempted to grab him, Junior dove straight down between the four beasts and slammed his open palm into the ground. Hundreds of massive green blades burst through the ground and impaled the beasts, each being momentarily stunned that such an attack could even break through their skins. The Sword Geyser having a firm hold on the monsters, sections of the blades separated from each other, sending the four Black Demon Reapers to four separate sections of the Nightosphere, leaving a perfect X pattern marked across the realm.

Junior singled one of them out and went straight for it. Still momentarily trapped, the beast had imitations appear and attempt to get in his way. But Junior simply passed straight through them, the mental images having no effect on him.

From off in the distance, Minnie and Hunson watched as Junior began to completely wail on this quarter of the Black Demon Reaper, hitting, cutting, and blasting it with everything he could.

"This…this is Junior…" Minnie said in awe as she watched the beast howl with agony from the assault. "I mean…I knew he'd fought against Hell…and killed our mother…but I never imagined…never could have imagined he could ever be this powerful…"

"That was a pretty brilliant move." Hunson commented. "He kept showing off the Ghost Multiplication technique to trick her into copying it and cut her power by ¾. Taking out even just one of those things gives Junior a far better chance of winning."

Minnie watched Junior continue his onslaught. He'd told her not to help because she'd slow him down. She now saw that this was true. The way he moved…he was simply acting and not thinking, much like the Black Demon Reaper. Letting his body make a move before either of them could process it. She moved at the speed of thought. He moved faster. And the battle…it was as if she was watching a hurricane during a volcanic eruption. She couldn't believe the power being thrown around by her brother, or her niece for that matter. And Junior had been subjected to this for two weeks after his daughter was born. Minnie couldn't even comprehend how he could have lasted so long and she was watching the struggle before her very eyes.

" _You've changed so much since I've been away…"_ She thought quietly.

Junior cut and blasted another limb off the beast quarter, another of many that continued to regrow.

" _This is taking too long!"_ Junior thought in the mists of the dismembered bits. He could feel the other quarters of the Black Demon Reaper starting to get free. He could not stop them, he knew that when he got them apart. But that was to buy him some time. If he couldn't destroy at least one of them by the time they regrouped, then all his previous attacks would mean nothing in comparison.

Turning both his hands into cannons, Junior fired directly into the creature's screaming maw. The wide beam of green energy filled the beast as it got wider and wider, until finally its expansion reached its maximum and exploded. The black goop of the creature splattered out all around the Grim Reaper. He wasn't worried. Destroying one clone wasn't going to be enough to kill his daughter.

…Though now that he thought about it, his last attack should have had as much of an effect as it did…

Junior parried his scythe just in time to block the attack that came from behind him. A green-bladed scythe with a large eye at its hilt. No one was holding this weapon. It was a bit of the beast's broken off flesh that transformed itself into a basic weapon to attack him. This single weapon wasn't a problem for the Reaper.

The hundreds of other blades that now surrounded him? That could be.

The blades were easy enough to take on, each going down in a single hit. The problem was that there were so many of them that it was a Hydra situation. As soon as he got through one or two or a hundred, a thousand more seemed to be waiting behind them to attack. As fast as he was Junior still sustained quite a few cuts from the many blades.

All the weapons kept swarming him. Junior kept fighting, but did so only until he could see the outline of where the swarm ended. He then jumped upwards and actually spun himself horizontally, the scythe blasting out a tremendous wave of energy that cut through every single one of the weapons. If the city wasn't already in ruins it would be quite clear that every building in the realm was now missing its first floor.

Junior took a moment to allow himself to breath. The battle was far from over, he knew that. But still, he took out at least one of the clones. If he was quick enough, he could possibly single out another one before they tried to regroup and-…

"Oh no…" Junior breathed. He'd been too distracted to see it before, but now that he had a moment to look, he could see a Black Demon Reaper running from where he was to join up with the other Black Demon Reapers, whom were now all free after breaking the blades that held them.

He put it together rather quickly. The clone made a duplicate of itself and left it as a sacrificial pawn so it could escape. It must have done it just before he blew it up.

He kicked himself for not seeing such a large target, but with the Aku clan's shaft-shifting mastery and the Nergal blending, if it wanted to be stealthy and if its enemy was distracted, it wasn't going to be seen.

Junior flew to intercept it but knew it was too late. The beast had too much of a head start and quickly met up with the others. The four Black Demon Reaper (or at least three-fourths and an eighth) slid back together and began to reform.

"He missed his window." Hunson sighed, seeming more apathetic to the situation than terrified or even annoyed. "It's over."

There was now just one singular Black Demon Reaper. It seemed almost larger than before, though that was probably due more to the soul-crushingness of everything affecting their mentality.

Junior prepared to strike, but the beast was faster. It slashed its massive scythe through the air, sending out a wave of energy that struck Junior dead-on and crashed him through the ground of the Nightosphere, the wave creating a small canyon as it went.

As lava filled the pit Junior flew back out, guns blazing and keeping his distance. The blasts flared across the beast's skin but did little else to affect it. The Black Demon Reaper charged at the Grim Reaper, its mass doing nothing to slow it down as it was on him in seconds. Though Junior felt every bit of that mass as the beast slammed into him with a force equivalent to being bitch-smacked by a mountain.

Junior tried to get away from the beast, but the tentacle hands reappeared again and grabbed him by his legs and wings. They started to drag him within the creature. He could feel the flesh eating away at himself and his souls. He shot and cut at the flesh and tentacles but kept sinking. His mind racing, Junior through both his hands together and fired as big of an ecto-blast as he could create. The blast did little to damage the flesh but the force of it was enough to propel Junior out of the beast's grasp, though the force tore his wings off when the tentacles didn't let go.

Junior was shot a few yards away and hit the ground hard, bouncing a few times before he could get back to his feet. The beast looked down at him, almost looking annoyed that its feast kept getting away from it.

Not hesitating for even a second, Junior let loose the Ghost Wail again, one of the few things proven powerful enough to harm it. The beast's skin seemed to squirm slightly from the ultra-sonic attack, but then mouths then began to open up around the creature's body, some even taking the place of eyes. From all these mouth, including its main one, the Black Demon Reaper let loose its own Ghostly Wails. Its power completely canceled out Junior's wail and cut into him. The ground started to shake apart and the surrounding buildings (what was left of them) were reduced to dust. This wail was far superior to what Junior's clones had hit it with earlier. If it wasn't for the fact that Hunson was deathless and Minnie wasn't actually there, both would have been obliterated. And they weren't even the target.

The onslaught ended and the beast closed its mouths and resealed them. Before it in the barren landscape it had created stood Junior, still holding his arms and scythe out in front of him from attempting to shield himself. His clothes were in taters and his flesh and bones were smoking.

"…Is that…the best…you got?" Junior huffed, mainly as a way to keep himself from passing out.

The beast raised one of its arms to him and it morphed into a large cannon, the barrel glowing bright green as it prepared to fire.

" _Well, I kind of asked for that."_ Junior thought grimly as he tried to get the feeling back in his cauterized legs.

He leapt back as the beast fired at him, each shot from its gun creating a wide blast radius that he could barely manage to avoid. He couldn't concentrate enough to regrow his wings, so Junior continued leaping backwards to get some distance between them. Unfortunately as much ground as Junior did put between them the beast could catch up with a single footstep.

Acting quickly as he could, Junior tore open a scythe portal behind him and dove into it, getting out of the way just as a blast would have hit him.

All of the beast's eyes cast themselves upwards as they saw the portal reopen high in the sky above them. Junior fell out of it and fell through the sky, but he used this moment of peace to regrow his wings and keep himself airborne and out of the creature's reach. The Black Demon Reaper continued to shoot at him, but it was far easier for Junior move in a 3-dimensional arena and he avoided them with relative ease.

Junior would have used this time to think up a new strategy for stopping this monster now that he had the upper hand, but said monster had all the tentacles on its back start gathering together and merge, seeming like it was forming…wings.

"….F**k." Junior cursed as he watch the massive wings kick up the dust and debris that surrounded the creature. It slowly became airborne, as the beast's weight was holding it back slightly. But if the rest of the battle had been any indication, that wouldn't hold it back for long and then Junior would lose yet another of the very few advantages he had over the Black Demon Reaper.

"So this is how my parents felt when they had to deal with me." He sighed as he watched the monster slowly work its way up to him. "Or at least that's what I would say if I wasn't pretty sure that I said that last time too. I don't know…do you remember if I did?" He asked the beast rhetorically, his mind wandering slightly in his exhaustion. "Do you remember anything from last time? I hope not, otherwise you'll see this coming."

Junior placed his hands into a triangle formation, having a clear view of the beast in the space between them. **"ADVANCED GEOMETRY!"**

The creature couldn't even see the blast that hit it, but it was nonetheless sent crashing into the ground, the impact of the blast and itself creating a perfectly square shaped crater. The attack did little to hurt the Black Demon Reaper and it quickly stood back up, but as it did…

" **ADVANCED GEOMETRY!"** Junior cried out again and another blast struck the creature. A squeal was heard as the beast was forced back and pushed even further into the ground. **"CIRCLE, TRIANGLE, SQUARE! CIRCLE, TRIANGLE, SQUARE!"** Every blast rocked the Nightosphere upon impact, as the Grim Reaper fought desperately to keep the monster that could destroy everything at bay.

* * *

Minnie still floated next to Hunson. "Why won't he transform?" She blurted as she watched his struggle. "His power as the giant Demon Reaper is even greater than what he has now, so why won't he use it?"

"Because it'd make him an easier target." Hunson answered, still seeming unfazed that his entire realm could basically be swept up into a dust-bin. "All that power comes from the souls he's devoured. Getting more power from them makes them easier to sense and quite a bit easier to take."

Minnie looked over at him skeptically. "How do you know this?"

"You think Junior was the only one keeping an eye on the other Underworld lords?" Hunson asked casually. "I asked Bill to keep an eye on your brother a while back and he was there the day MJ was born. Told me all about it when it was over. How Junior struggled to stop her and how he eventually managed to. His own Demon Reaper form took quite a beating and I imagine he's had a good…uh…how old is MJ?"

"She's ten."

"…ten years to plan out how he'd fight his daughter if he ever had too again. Just going off memory of what Bill told me, Junior certainly has learned from last time. He might have even been able end this a while ago if she didn't have my power going through her too."

The flashes from Junior's blasts flickered across Minnie's face as she continued to watch, cursing her helplessness. "There has to be something we can do to aid him!"

"Have you tried reaching back into her mind and shaking her back to normal?" Hunson asked.

"Yes, but her mind is in too much disarray. I can't get her to stable enough to listen to me." She informed hurriedly.

"Then, no, there's nothing you can do." He stated evenly. "Neither of us are going to be any help in a physical fight. It's up to Junior right now and honestly, I don't think that's going to last much longer. I'll admit, even I'm a little worried at this point. We didn't think she'd be able to tap into this much power once she got the gem. Going to be a pain to get that out of her once she's done with him."

Minnie almost wasn't listening, as her attention was more focused on her brother's struggle. But she stiffened slightly, as her sharp mind caught something in the ruler's words. He didn't say "If". He said "once".

She slowly turned to look at him, unease in her features. "Lord Abadeer…did you…did you let her take the Nightosphere amulet?"

Hunson said nothing, just continued to watch the battle.

Minnie could feel the sweat running down her brow, or at least the memory of it. "…What have you done?"

"Oh, you'll see." He responded simply. "…Or maybe you won't. But Junior certainly will. Just give it some time."

* * *

Junior hung in the air, the light from his last blast just having ended. He breathed heavily as he gazed down into the black abyss at the bottom of the crater.

"Come on…" He panted. "I know that wasn't enough to finish you… and Mr. Popo will never let me live it down if it was…"

From out of the abyss shoot several black spikes, each bearing a green blade at their end, all aiming for the Reaper.

" **ADVANCED GEOMETRY!"** He cried again and the powerful tri-beam knocked the spikes back and pushed them back into the hole.

He couldn't keep this up for much longer. He'd been using this attack to buy him some time to think of some way to win, but the beast's resilience made Junior focus more on just staying alive a few seconds longer. Every attack that could possibly hurt the creature just took too much out of him and he was well past his limit already. Even if he transformed, he could probably get only one good blow in on it and he was positive it wouldn't be enough to kill it, even if he wasn't trying to save his daughter. No matter how he looked at it, he couldn't see any way he could win or even survive this day.

But he also knew he couldn't afford to give up. Not with what that'd mean.

He watched the pit carefully, keeping an eye out for any movement that would lash out to attack him. After a few seconds he became worried. This was the longest it had gone without attacking him.

And then he heard it. Right from behind him. The all too familiar SHING sound.

Junior turned around and saw it in the sky even further above him. A giant tear, with the enormous black monster falling out of it.

He couldn't react in time and was struck by the full force of it as it crashed into him and moments later the ground. The impact sent a shockwave around the Nightosphere as the Grim Reaper was completely trapped underneath the beast's bulk.

All Junior could see was cold blackness as he sank into the creature's flesh. He felt what seemed like thousands of tiny teeth just biting away at him, trying to eat away at and through his very being to get to the souls he housed within him. In his exhausted fog of thought he couldn't help but wonder if this is what the souls he devoured felt when he got them. He didn't know. Never bothered to ask any of them.

He was so tried. He just wanted to sleep.

Just go home and sleep…

Home…

His family…

MJ…

Junior wasn't sure if he reopened his eyes or if he'd ever closed them to begin with, it was too dark to tell.

MJ still needed to be brought back out of this thing. There was no quitting.

The Black Demon Reaper felt things almost crawling underneath its flesh. Bumps started to appear as they zipped and moved all around its body, like it was cutting it apart from the inside. A muffled yell could be heard getting louder as the inner movement increased. From out below the beast's screaming jaws Junior burst out, two rapidly spinning circles of souls dancing around him, a trail of more souls sawing their way out to follow him.

The Black Demon Reaper could never have seen this tactic coming. All the souls it had consumed throughout the day had been taken with ease and rested safely in its stomach. To have the souls it was currently assuming just start attacking it from within…it had been taken completely off guard and was left hurting from it.

Junior had hoped to avoid using this tactic. Controlling souls required more thought and concentration than the beast actually had, so it was not likely to be able to copy this technique and that gave Junior a slight edge, as it would be wary of taking these particular souls in fear of being hurt again. However, having these souls taken out of him left Junior significantly physically weaker and while they could act as shields for him, if the beast suddenly decided to change its mind and try to eat them, there was little Junior would be able to do to stop it. It was a very risky move. The only reason he was using this and not transforming was because if the beast attacked it would destroy the souls and that'd mean it could no longer try to gain strength from them. It wasn't a good solution, but it was the best he had at the moment.

Taking a second to chuckling at the fact that the majority of the souls that now protected him were of those who probably wanted him dead, Junior gripped his scythe and charged at the roaring beast.

* * *

Jacob Abadeer stood amongst the ruins of the throne room, as his grandfather had ordered him to do. It was about as destroyed as every other building in the Nightosphere, but it still was a safe enough location for the time being. Safe as in it was far enough away from the battle where Jacob could just barely make out the tiny speck of the Grim Reaper fighting against the very easy-to-spot Black Demon Reaper. Though he didn't have to see Junior up close to know it was not going well. The demon vampire could feel the tremendous power of the beast and the dwindling power of his best friend's father.

"Old Junior's not looking so good, is he?"

Jacob turned sharply to see the owner of the voice. Behind him was the one armed and rotting green HIM, just being barely supported upright by the decaying ghost twin, whom were essentially just heads and arms at this point.

Jacon let himself lose control and ran up to the demon, striking him hard across the face with his fist. He fell to the ground easily, Manny and Daniela unable to hold him anymore.

HIM hacked up a little bit of green demon blood on the floor, though this was due more to his condition than any force from his son's punch. "Good shot…" His raspy voice said through a smile. "You might have what it takes to follow in my footsteps after all…"

He sat himself up with his back against the wall for support. And as soon as he did Jacob grabbed him roughly by the collar.

"You…!" Tears streamed down the ten year old's face as it grimaced with rage and sadness. "This is all your fault!"

HIM almost chuckled, but found it hard to in his weakened state. "Believe me, my boy, I would love nothing more than to take credit for today's festivities, but I'm afraid even I couldn't have predicted half of all the shit that's happened."

"You made Bill turn Mimi into a monster!" Jacob yelled.

"Your little friend was already a monster, as I'm sure you've already figured out." HIM countered. "It's not very hard to figure out from the way we've all been talking about her. I knew it. Bill knew it. Your grandfather certainly knew it. Good thing I'm already on my way out or Hunson would have my hide for the way I made our plans move forward. But…them's the breaks."

Jacob looked at his father puzzled. "…Plan? What plan?"

HIM smirked a bit. "…Years ago, before you were born, the Demon Reaper was the most powerful being to ever emerge from the Underworld, and by the look of it, still is. He who could control the power of the Demon Reaper could potentially control the entire Underworld. I made my play for it, and I imagine if Mandy had been a better mother, she could have too. But in the end it was Junior who controlled that power and he used it as he should have, to take control of the Underworld, or at least, for the most part. And now? He risks his entire empire being taken from him by a Demon Reaper stronger than he is. Funny how that works out."

Jacob stared intently in rage at the demon. "You did all this just to get Mimi to transform and kill her father?"

HIM let out a quick laugh before quickly halting it from the pain. "Please…because of Mandy's bomb I can barely predict my regularity, much less some grand plan to unlock her power as Junior tried to save her from me. True, we did make a few plans for multiple scenarios in case this or that happened, but I was banking more on Bill just keeping her locked away until we could break her and figure out how to unleash her power. I didn't think it'd actually happen today, not that I'm complaining."

"Who's we?" Jacob asked.

HIM sneered. "The Underworld is a big and grand place, my boy, and if I can't have it, then I'm certainly not going to let the bitch's line take it instead. And Hunson agrees."

"Wha-what?" Jacob let go of HIM's collar, fear taking a stronger hold on him.

"There are very few things that can go toe-to-toe with a Demon Reaper, my boy." HIM said. "You're one of them and he's another. And Junior's little girl…well…that's the one that just seems the most poetic."

Jacob was frozen for a few seconds, but did his best to steel himself. "I…I'm not just going to let Mimi stay like this!"

"Oh, I don't recommend that you do, Jacob." HIM said. "I see this playing out two ways: one is that MJ kills Junior and leaves the Nightosphere in search for more souls. It'll find them and keep growing in power until it devours everything in existence and causing the end of everything as we know it. The other is that Junior somehow finds a way to kill her, and I can't imagine you're fond of either of these outcomes. The universe or the girl you want to bang who's named after your sister? Tough call."

Jacob just glared at the demon, but did so nervously and unsure, which HIM took as his que to keep talking.

"There is a third option, Jacob. A door yet unopened. You can stop this all by yourself and save your friend."

Jacob was quiet for a few minutes. "What…what do I have to do?"

HIM raised his claw up, one of the few parts of his body that was a solid red and not a sickly red and green mix. "The Devil's Essence." He said.

Jacob immediately jumped back. "NO WAY!" He yelled. "I won't let you trick me again!"

"Oh no, my boy, this is far too straightforward for a simple trick." HIM said. "The Devil's Essence is your birthright. It will unleash your true power."

"When you infected me with that stuff before Mr. Reaper stopped me with one move!" Jacob pointed out.

"He took you out so easily because you were resisting the essence." HIM explained. "It was fighting you and you were fighting it. It was a flaw Junior could easily exploit. But if you give yourself willingly to its power, you will know might greater than you could have ever imagined. More than enough to take on the Black Demon Reaper."

Jacob paced. He could feel Junior getting weaker by the minute. The beast's power was too much for him. If Jacob could do anything to help him…

"Why should I trust you?" He asked.

"This has nothing to do with trust, my boy." HIM stated. "It's an offer of power. I told you that there was never any doubt that you'd join me. How badly do you want to prove me wrong?" He extended his claw back out to his on.

Jacob stared at this claw just as he had when it had been offered to him before. There was no doubts of hidden evil or future promises this time. This time it was very clear that bad things were to come. That's just what happens when you make deals with devils.

And the only reason that this devil chose to be so honest now was because he knew his victim had no other choice.

Jacob grasped the claw in a makeshift handshake.

"And we're in business!" HIM cheered as the redness left his claw and spread out onto Jacob. Jacob winced in pain as it overtook him and red sparks started streaming out from his body. "Oh, didn't I mention it was going to hurt at first?" HIM asked with a smile. "Because it does."

* * *

Junior was hanging feet above the ground. Not because he was flying. The Black Demon Reaper, during their battle, had figured out how to use the Blade Geyser. It'd slammed its massive palm into the ground and swords burst up, impaling everything in the area. Blades stuck out through the Reaper's arms, legs, and torso, dangling him up. The rings of souls that'd been protecting him had been destroyed by the attack. He had more within him, but could feel the blades trying to eat their way to them and didn't want to make it easier for them. His fingers were just barely holding onto his scythe, as a spike stuck out through his open palm.

Slowly gathering energy within himself, Junior expanded out a momentary ecto-shield that vaporized the blades in and around his body. Once the blades were gone and the shield faded, Junior fell to the ground face first and landed with a thud.

With every part of his body begging him not to, Junior got back up. One thing he'd inherited from his father, the ability to withstand a tremendous amount of punishment. Unfortunately, he thought, that trait probably got passed on the MJ too.

The Black Demon Reaper stood high over him. He'd hit it again and again with everything he had and it wasn't enough. He still had some power left but was barely strong enough to stand, let alone swing his scythe.

Junior looked into the beast's many eyes, trying to see even a glimmer of his daughter still in there.

"I don't want this to end like last time." Junior said so quietly he could barely hear it himself. "Please…please not again…"

The Black Demon Reaper could feel its prey's weakness and moved in for the kill.

Junior tensed himself and-

" **You tried, old man?"**

Junior didn't recognize the voice, but it appeared the beast heard it too, as it stopped its advance and looked curiously at the figure behind the Reaper. Junior looked too and found himself at the foot of a very tall being, about half the size of the Black Demon Reaper. It was dark red in color, with jet black thigh-high boots and claws, and a very sinister presence.

"…Kare?" Junior asked, before he noticed the more bat-like features of the ears and nose and that the black tulle around the being's neck was actually fur. "Jacob…" Junior realized. Expanding his awareness he could feel the dimness that was HIM's soul off in the distance within the throne room. _"You couldn't just die without ruining one more person's life…"_ The Reaper cursed as he put together what'd happened.

" **Babe really did a number on ya, huh?"** Jacob mocked, the Devil's Essence clearly releasing some of the boy's inhibitions. **"Well, don't worry. You just sit back and relax while I start laying into your daughter. Your family's turned on by that stuff, right?"**

Junior would have retorted sharply if he could even move without wincing.

The titanic demon vampire stepped in front of the Black Demon Reaper. It observed him, but did not attack. Jacob waved a claw in front of its face and its eyes followed, but the delay was a bit long.

" **So…you really do have trouble seeing me."** Jacob commented with a smile. **"Well, that's ok. After all, if you can't trust your eyes…"** He grabbed the beast by the arm. **"…use another sense!"** And he tore the arm right off the creature's body.

The Black Demon Reaper howled in pain. It quickly regrew its arm as it attacked the demon vampire with the scythe in its other one. Jacob ducked out of the way and then grabbed the scythe by the staff and tried to yank it away. The beast held on and its tentacle blades spawned from its body to attack him. Before they reached him, Jacob leaned back and then threw himself forward to head-butt the creature. The beast caught his head in its jaws and bit down.

His head was stuck firmly in its mouth. Then the beast's back started to glow red. And then flames exploded from its back as they erupted from Jacob's own mouth.

Loosing focus for just a second from the surprise, the Black Demon Reaper released its scythe and Jacob took it. He used the blade to cut open the beast's jaws to release him. As the beast attempted to fix itself, Jacob struck it atop with the scythe. And then again. And again. And again. And then several more times afterwards, beating the creature into the ground and using the weapon as more of a club than a scythe, especially when the sharp end of the blade was not always pointing down at it.

Black spikes shot upwards at the demon vampire. Jacob was able to stomp most of them back into the ground, but a few did manage to impale him. Though he smiled through it, seeming to almost take pleasure from the pain, and continued with his assault.

Junior was surprised, of course, by this change in events, but had no trouble believing what he was seeing. Jacob certainly wasn't more powerful than the Black Demon Reaper, but he was uniquely prepared for it. He had no soul of his own to steal and the beast was having a hard time adjusting to such a savage opponent.

There was a chance now, assuming of course that Jacob wouldn't become a bigger problem if they won.

The beast opened its jaw wide, as well as any other mouths it could, and let loose the Ghost Wail. Jacob stopped attacking and covered his ears, the power too much for even him to take for very long. The creature started to recover, but Jacob, through one eye that he struggled to keep open, saw something.

" **There it is!"** He declared as he drove his claw right into the beast's open maw. It bit down on his arm fiercely, gushing up a considerable amount of blood from the demon vampire, but he kept on at it, struggling to keep his arm attached, until finally he pulled it back up, yanking out a considerable amount of the beast's inner bits. And amidst those bits was a purple rhombus-shaped gem.

The beast did not like this one bit, as it thrashed about wildly to attempt to get it back.

" **Sorry, Mimi, but this here's a family heirloom."** He said as he stuck the gem into his neck fur. From the amulet spread out a dark black business suit (that made him look fairly pimp, to be honest). Two devil style horns burst up from his forehead and his mouth turned sideways. By the look of it, Jacob was reveling in the power the chaotic evil was giving him. He looked hungrily down at the Black Demon Reaper. **"Now…GET IN MAH BELLY!"** He roared as his open mouth created a typhoon of wind, kicking up every last bit of dust and debris around them. The beast roared and attacked in protest, but to no avail. Jacob's power was too great and soul after soul began to be painfully ripped from the Black Demon Reaper's flesh. The winds were too great to escape and the beast could not focus enough to create any new blades to open a scythe portal. It started losing all the mass and power it had gained. With each soul he took in, Jacob's body became more bulbous in shape and he increased steadily in size. And he wasn't going to stop until he drained every last bit he could.

There was only one soul the demon vampire was not to have. As he sucked, he ripped out the soul of Bill Cipher, finally making the Black Demon Reaper lose all the power it'd gained from him. Thankfully Jacob was not to gain this power, for as soon as Bill was aware that he was free, he transported himself back to the Mindscape, knowing full well there'd be a couple of people in the Nightosphere he may not wish to deal with yet.

The moment Bill was freed, Minnie began to fade, no longer able to project herself into the physical world. But as she faded, her glare at the Nightosphere lord never wavered.

"I will tell her what you've done." Minnie said with all her anger. "Junior will know."

"And I'll make it so that won't matter." Hunson retorted with a smile.

And like that, she was gone.

Junior did not know of the words that had been spoken between the two, but he'd been watching and saw the moment Minnie's mental image vanished.

This was finally opening he needed. Junior flew straight upwards, a slight distance away from where Jacob was busy sucking the last of the souls out of the Black Demon Reaper, which was now barely half of its original size.

He wasn't going to bother telling Jacob to get out of the way. He knew the boy wasn't in any state to listen to him and was likely going to keep on the black beast until he killed it. Junior wasn't going to allow that, and whether he'd admit it to himself or not, Jacob was a big threat to him at the moment and he wasn't going to risk him standing in his way.

Nergal flesh spread out around his weapon. The blade of the Reaper's scythe glowed and glowed until it was an unbearably bright green, as Junior channeled every last bit of his remaining power into it. He had one shot at this. This attack wouldn't kill the kids. They'd live.

But just barely.

Junior raised the scythe up high and then swiftly brought it down.

Jacob saw a brief glint of green light flash on the ground just before it happened. He had no idea what struck him or the Black Demon Reaper. Its power completely cut through the both of them. In the span of a millisecond, every cell the bodies of both monsters burned and exploded as a wave of unimaginable power ripped through them both. There was nowhere near enough time for either to scream and nowhere near enough time to comprehend what was happening, not even the pain.

At the end of that millisecond, it was over.

Every other part of the destroyed Nightosphere remained untouched by the Reaper's attack, but the area where it did hit was now a canyon that stretched on for miles in a straight path. So deep and black it was if it had no bottom. And at the very end of the long pit was the Grim Reaper, kneeling down on one knee, his scythe in one hand keeping him propped up against the ground. And in his other arm, the body of a pitch black strawberry blond girl. Just a moment ago one of the most powerful creatures in existence, now having taken so much damage that it shifted into its most basic and low energy form, for just the slimmest chance of survival. Just as the Reaper had been counting on.

MJ's eyes twitched as the struggled to open, hurting slightly in the light. "…Dad?" She said softly.

"Hey, kiddo." He said just as softly, smiling at her. "You alright?"

MJ raised her hand up slightly to her dizzy head. "What…what happened?"

"Easy." Junior took her hand and slowly lowered it back down. "Just close your eyes and get some rest. We'll be home soon."

Not really able to focus at the moment, MJ gave a small nod before closing her eyes and drifting off.

Junior hugged her tightly to himself.

His daughter was ok…

She was ok…

* * *

Hunson had no trouble finding his way around in the blackness of the canyon, being used to such places. He walked along until he finally came across the unconscious body of his grandson. Jacob was no longer the titanic monster and was now back to his regular form, though the red skin color remained, as did the business suit.

Hunson plucked the gem off his body and the suit melted away. Placing the amulet back around his own neck, the ruler's body was once again covered by his own black and slimming outfit.

He chuckled as he threw his grandson up over his shoulder. "You've had a big day today, haven't you?"

Jacob groaned from his soreness and remained asleep.

"Heh…kids."

* * *

HIM still sat with his back against the wall. The majority of his body, what was left of it anyway, covered in blazing bright ecto-burns, his poisoning eating away at him. He sat completely still, not moving until he finally tilted his head up to see the Grim Reaper before him.

"You know…"HIM mused. "If someone had told me years ago that little bitty Grim Jr was going to become the terror of the Underworld, I'd have asked for a puff of whatever they were smoking."

Junior said nothing for the moment. He looked over to the two ghosts on the ground next to the demon. The majority of their bodies were gone, mainly just a face and a torso left for them each. They still looked just as dead-eyed as when HIM presented them to him.

" _Manny and Daniela…"_ Junior remembered what HIM called the twins. The little brother and sister he never had the chance to know. He felt nothing for them, or at least not as much as he wanted to.

He spawned a Nergal scythe forth and quickly cut through the both of them. The decay of their souls speed up rapidly from the damage and within second, both were gone. It was quick. This was a small mercy and the only one Junior could give them.

HIM convulsed at the moment the twins were destroyed, their souls no longer able to slow his own decay. The pain rocked through him, but he did his best to remain relatively composed.

"Guessing you're a clone." He said. "The real you wouldn't leave your daughter or Grim's scythe unattended after all this crap. Don't want to risk me escaping a third time?"

Junior glared hard at the demon. "Why did you do all this? What was the point?"

HIM needed a moment before he could talk, the poisoning doing a good bit of damage to his insides. "…There are quite I few things I hate. Being a devil, it comes with the territory." He started. "The Powerpuffs topped the list for a while there. Your mother would be higher, but I have a thing for angry women with nice racks. You can understand that, being married to Chi. …But one thing I've found that I absolutely cannot stand is wasted potential. All the power in the world and people waste it on trying to keep order standing. Feh! …You…" HIM left his claw up shakenly to point at Junior, but quickly let it fall back to his side, as its weight was too much for his decaying muscles. "You started off so well. You killed the bitch and took everything from her. You made Chi grovel at your feet and terrorized the other realms with your takeover of the Ghost Zone. Everything you did one-upped all those who came before you. I was so proud...and then you stopped."

Junior stood and listened to the demon. He could kill him at any moment and was in no hurry to put the bastard out of his misery.

"At first I thought it was just another manipulation…but no…you and Chi were actually happy together and going to have a child, a child you wanted to live in a peaceful time of the Underworld. You were content and were going to live and let live. So disappointing." The demon scolded. "…But then you surprised me. I just had Bill stir up some fears and paranoia in you, thinking that maybe it'd cause you to start butting heads with the council if you thought they were going to hurt your kid. I wasn't expecting you to completely eradicate Hell!" HIM laughed, wincing as he did. "Even my jaw hit the floor when Bill told me that you had Mephisto eaten! Not that I'm complaining. Teach that tattletale bastard a lesson. Did you know he cheats at poker?" Junior didn't respond, so HIM just kept talking. "I was actually giddy for a while there. I couldn't wait to see what you'd do next! …But you didn't do anything after. You let people live in fear of your reputation and the legacy you come from while you kept your family safe and secure. How quaint." He made a small raspberry noise at the last word.

"So you joined up with Hunson and Bill, had another kid, and attempted to turn my daughter into your slave, all to take me down because I was boring you?" Junior asked evenly.

"I wanted to take you down because I hated how you were wasting your potential." HIM stated. "I saw it within you the day we officially met, Junior. All that you could have become. I could have helped you reach it."

"We both know you would have screwed me over, Kare." Junior stated.

The demon chuckled. "Yeah…I would have… but now? Now you're just plain screwed."

Junior said nothing back, not yet. Demons lie, he knew this to be true. But whether or not HIM would say a lie or a painful truth, Junior knew he had to hear this.

"The Underworld is not a place for good people. That's why your mother fit in so well." HIM said, his breathing getting shorter and harder. It was time. "…I guess I just wasn't content on leaving this world without at least knowing that the Underworld would be safe in the hands of an even bigger bastard than me. …Marceline never allowed me as much time as I would have preferred to mold Jacob, so my options are rather limited. It came down to Hunson…and one other." HIM nearly choked as he chuckled at the one before him. "Junior…my boy…don't you dare let me down…"

HIM's eyes closed slowly. Junior could have stabbed him to keep him awake. Put him in more pain that he was very well deserving of. But he didn't. He let the demon dissolve away. Hot green sickness overtook his red body and everything he was melted away, never to be seen again. Leaving behind only a pair of bloodied sunglasses.

The clone stood there for a few minutes in the quiet of the room. He then allowed himself to vanish, sending his power back to the original, as well as knowledge the clone was certain he'd rather not know.

* * *

Junior stayed kneeling with MJ in his arms. His legs were far too tried for him to stand.

Flying up from the canyon came Hunson, landing beside Junior, with his grandson still knocked out.

"That was something else, wasn't it?" Hunson asked in a chipper manner. Junior glared at him but said nothing. Every part of him was physically drained and wounded, while Hunson looked completely unharmed and very likely was. Junior didn't like being this vulnerable before a potential enemy, but there was little he could do about it at the moment.

After a few minutes of quiet between the two, Hunson finally said "I'm assuming you still want that explanation, am I right?"

Junior looked down at his daughter and sighed. "Well Hunson, it's not like I can't understand doing incredibly questionable things to keep what you care about safe. Our position reversed, I suppose I would have used Kare just like you did."

"Really?" Hunson asked, a little surprised. "Well…I am actually quite glad to hear that. It'll make this next part soooooo much less awkward."

"What do you mean?" Junior raised an eyebrow.

Hunson smirked at the Reaper. "I'm afraid your empire has just declared war against the Nightosphere."

 **Chapter End.**

* * *

Author's notes: It's finally over! This section of the story that I've been having writer's block over I mean, not the story itself. Clearly the story has a bit more left to do because WTF Hunson?!

Want to know what the deal is with that? Well just stay tuned and I'll try to have the next chapter up soon as it's ready. Thank you.

Also, if you're curious about Jacob's giant demon form, just look up Powerpuff Girls: Speed Demon. It was a fairly terrifying episode.

 **QTP:** What will be the repercussions of the Black Demon Reaper's attack on a Big Five realm (get it? Reaper-cussions? Demon Reaper? Ok…)? What will Bill do now after his experience with the beast that ate him? Any lingering effects on Junior after his epic battle? What will happen to MJ now that she's back to normal (relatively speaking)? And, of course, WTF Hunson?!


	26. Before the Storm, part 1

**Part 26: Before the Storm, part 1**

 **Emeraldalex123:** Well, evil is as evil does. Always glad to hear from you. And to answer your question: not well.

 **nightmaster000:** Thank you. I was hoping that the way I wrote HIM would work, mainly because the only thing I've done with him is be a dying asshole and I was worried that wasn't doing enough with the character.

And I will reveal more and more of Hunson's motivations as the story goes on, because you don't just pick a fight with Death unless you can get something good out of it.

And while I have no immediate plans for Finn or Bubblegum, I am planning on having Marceline appear later, as I think just having her in the story to be HIM's babymaker would be unbelievably sexist.

 **tylermech66:** I don't think I've ever heard of Warhammer 40k or Nobeldark. Are they good?

 **CuteVyper:** Wow…I think you're the first person to respond to the QTPs, and a perfect example of why I like reading the reviews I get, because these are some pretty good ideas, some of which I (to my shame) never even considered. Thank you.

Always glad to hear that someone likes my writing.

 **DANNY BOMBAS:** Don't worry about it. Glad to hear you're enjoying the story.

* * *

 **Chapter start**

"Mom, I'm fine."

"Mimi, quit fussing and hold still." Chi commanded her daughter as she attempted to clean her smudgy face with the washcloth. They both sat on the bed within MJ's room of Castle Grimskull. "I'll never understand how it's the fiery realms that always manage to kick up the most dirt. You'd think it'd be more stuck together because of all that flame."

Chi finally finished. "There. That wasn't so bad now, was it?"

MJ did a little bit of pouting. "I can wash my own face, mom."

"I'm well aware of that." Chi said as she put the cloth away. "But then again, when else am I going to get a chance to pamper my adorable little muffin?" She cooed as she pinched her cheeks.

"Yada!" MJ protested embarrassedly. Her mother would always fuss over her like this, but truth be told, MJ usually didn't mind it so much. It was just that being the young preteen that she was, she couldn't make it seem like she enjoyed the attention (and at least it wasn't in public this time).

Chi let go of her face and MJ, blushing a little bit, resumed her pouting glare, which didn't make her look any less adorable to her mother. This pouting continued until the images of MJ's memory, the image of her mother lying lifeless in that pool of blood, flashed before her again. MJ quickly turned her head away from her mother to avoid looking at her, quiet sorrow overtaking some of her features. This did not go unnoticed by Chi, but she said nothing yet.

MJ was quiet for a minute. "Do you know where dad is?" She asked.

Chi folded her arms. "If I had to guess, he's probably locked himself away in his office again, like he always does." She said, sounding perhaps a little annoyed with him. "I swear, that man has come close numerous times to just installing a bed and mini-fridge in that room so he never has to come out."

"Do you know when he'll be back out?"

Chi could hear the bit of angst in her daughter's voice. "I'm sorry, but I don't." She said sincerely.

MJ gave a small nod in acceptance and wrapped her arms around her knees, closing herself off as she sat there.

Chi placed her hand gently on her shoulder. "Mimi…it's all right." She assured softly. "You can talk to me."

MJ's eyes gave a quick glace over to her before looking away again. "Yeah…I know, mom."

Chi, regretfully, didn't push any further. It was a flaw she knew she'd inherited from her own mother. She could never bring herself to prod at or be too tough on her daughter, even when it could help her. How MJ somehow managed to avoid being a completely spoiled brat like she was when she was her age was beyond her.

A knock was then heard at the door. "Mistress? May I come in?"

MJ's head bolted up at the sound of the woman's voice. "Is that…?"

Chi smirked a little, able to see the small hopefulness that was in her child's eyes. "Enter." She commanded.

The door opened, entering into the room a tall blue ghost in full body police riot armor. The woman held her helmet at her side, revealing her long black hair and numerous freckles on her face.

"Box lunch!" MJ exclaimed happily as she ran over and hugged the ghost.

Box Lunch hugged her back. "Hey, munchkin. Long time, no see."

"I called her a little while you and your father got back." Chi explained. "I figured after today you'd appreciate a friendly face."

After the hug broke, MJ asked "But, wait…I thought you and your dad were busy dealing with the Johnny 13 gang?"

Box Lunch smiled at the girl. "You really think a bunch of souped-up motor heads could ever give me enough trouble to keep me away from my favorite little reaper?" She asked. "Oh! That reminds me." Box Lunch reached behind her into her pack and pulled out a black biker helmet, the number 13 plastered on it like a logo. "We had a big bust recently and the evidence rooms are overflowing with crap, so I got you a souvenir."

MJ took the helmet happily, but paused just as she was about to put it on. "Why is the inside glowing green?"

Box Lunch scratched her head in slight embarrassment. "Well…the guy I took this off of…I kind of kicked him just a little too hard…"

MJ stared into the helmet for a minute. "…Cooooool!"

Chi watched on with a smile on her face as the two continued to converse and catch up, happy to see her daughter's mood finally lift a bit.

Box Lunch is the daughter of the current warden of the Ghost Zone. Only four years old when Box Ghost took the position, she'd essentially grown up only ever knowing her father as the most feared ghost within the realm. She spent her life trying to be just as great as he was and help keep order within the Ghost Zone with him. But even more so, she'd spent her life trying to prove herself worthy of being in the service of the man who put her father there, Grim Jr. She idolized the Grim Reaper, likely because she never believed any of the "rumors" about how Junior got her father into his service (and because Box Ghost was never foolish enough to confirm any of them with her), and saw him solely as the great ruler who helped make her father into the man he was today. After years of rising through the ranks of the ghost police and her incredible loyalty to Death's empire, she ended up being on very good terms with the Grim clan and became fast friends with her lord's only daughter, even acting as like an older sister to her at times.

Chi greatly encouraged her daughter's friendship with the ghost, perhaps hoping that a relationship could blossom between the two like it did for her and her daughter's namesake. Being the rulers of the Ghost Zone, MJ's relationship wouldn't suffer from the same roadblocks as hers did (despite the clear age difference). It never went beyond strong friendship, mind you, but Chi knew Box Lunch made her daughter happy, so that was the important thing.

MJ was heavily entwined in the ghost's latest story of her raid, but ss they were talking Box Lunch's words seemed to get drowned out in MJ's ears. All her attention was on the glow that surrounded the blue ghost. It mesmerized her. She couldn't stop staring at it. It had a scent almost. A feel to it of power. MJ felt her teeth sharpen as she was drawn by it. She wanted to get closer. She wanted to consume it. She…

MJ shook herself back to her senses. Upon the realization of what she'd been thinking, she quickly said "Mom, Box Lunch…would it be alright if we stopped and I went to bed?"

Chi and Box Lunch looked to each other, both wondering what they should do.

Finally, Chi stood up. "Of course, sweetie." She said, giving Box Lunch a small gesture to back up from MJ and give her some room. Chi knelt down to eye level with her daughter. "If you need anything, we have guards posted all across the castle and all the defenses have been raised. Do you remember the emergency protocols?"

"Yes, mom."

"…Alright. Then get some sleep." Chi kissed her daughter's forehead, MJ flinching a little as she did so. Box Lunch said good night to MJ and then followed Chi out of the room.

As Chi closed the door behind them, Box Lunch asked "How bad is it?"

Chi didn't answer. She stared at the door for a minute or two, deep in thought, before turning to Box Lunch. "Would you be willing to stay and help stand guard here tonight?"

"Of course, my lady." She said without hesitation. Chi gave a nod in thanks and walked off, Box Lunch giving her a bow as she left and stationed herself in front of the door.

* * *

Chi made her way through the castle, not heading to Death's study, but to the war room, where she knew her husband actually was.

"She can't even look me in the eye right now." She said as she entered into the monitor and map filled room.

"She does think that she killed you." Junior said, barely paying attention to her as he glossed over the many reports his spies from around the Underworld sent him.

"As far as she knows she did." Chi informed angrily, trying to hold Junior's attention. "She's so bottled up and scared. Not even Box Lunch was able to help."

Junior, still going through the reports, cast her a sideways glace. "How much does she know?"

"I only told her that Mimi was in trouble and it involved the Nightosphere. That was all she needed to know. I don't want any of this getting out there until we have a better handle on the situation."

"Might be too late for that." Junior said, getting back to the reports. "Hunson's made sure this declaration of war is the talk of the realms. I've got reports from everywhere of people flocking to his side or just getting the hell out of dodge." The papers in the Reaper's hand crinkled in his irritation as he rubbed his tired eyes. "And then there are the realms on the council, who know damn well this is happening and haven't said a word about it or even called for a meeting to get us to play nice. Probably know this is their one chance and they don't want to waste it."

Junior looked around at all the monitors, each overlooking a different realm or kingdom and keeping track of the activity in them. Junior moved forward to look at one but the moment he did his leg buckled in pain and he fell over.

"Grim!" Chi ran to him and caught him before he hit the floor, though the papers were now scattered all across it.

"I'm fine!" Junior insisted as he attempted to straighten himself back up. He failed to do so and fell back into his wife's arms.

"No, clearly you're not." Chi stated as she helped lower him into on the chairs. "Your fight with Mimi's Demon Reaper form took a lot out of you."

"I'm fine." Junior said again as he held his side. "…I need to get back to my work." He tried to get up from the chair, but Chi held onto his shoulder and kept him sitting. If he'd been at all recovered from his battle, he'd have no trouble getting her off him, proving her point.

After he stopped struggling to get up, Chi let go of him and gently held her husband's hand. "What happened back there?"

"I already told you what happened."

"Yes. Now show me." Chi's hand left his, revealing the Remembrance Orb she'd placed within his palm. "I don't want anything left out."

Junior looked quietly at her for a moment before sighing in acceptance. He took the orb a squeezed it, causing it to glow.

The war room was overtaken by the light. Both Chi and Junior stood (and sat) amongst the ruins of the burning Nightosphere, the smell of soot and fried bananas hanging in the air. Before the two was Hunson Abadeer, still holding his grandson over his shoulder. He stood before three people. Junior, whom the present Junior and Chi were seeing the viewpoint of the memory from, MJ, still asleep in her father's arm, and the third person, a blond woman that only the present Junior and Chi were able to see, as the Remembrance Orb makes visible things that even those within the memory could not originally see.

Chi scowled at Minnie's presence there. Her unlocking MJ's powers was one of the few things Junior had told her when he and MJ returned home and Chi was feeling a mix of emotions at the moment. She was incredibly grateful to her for saving her daughter from Bill Cipher and believed that she made the right call. But at the same time she was troubled by the presence of her husband's ex-lover being so close to her daughter, especially when she couldn't help but notice to great amount of insistence Junior had used when telling her this was not the real Minnie, like he was reminding himself of that fact as well.

Chi's attention was then attracted when the Junior of the memory spoke.

" _You care to run that by be again, Hunson?" He demanded._

 _Hunson continued to smile with that damn unnerving look he always had. "Well, you see, it's just the darndest thing…it starts off just like any other day with me, causing chaos and pain in the Nightosphere, when all of a sudden a giant monster appears and starts assaulting my citizens!"_

The past Junior furrowed his brow, as he could tell where this was going. Chi, from the corner of her eye, saw the present Junior holding himself as he started shaking in anger.

" _Turns out that this giant monster was the daughter of a fellow Underworld lord, the Grim Reaper." Hunson continued. "Not only does she attempt to steal the souls of all those whom belong to me, her father then shows up and together they start wreaking stuff, destroy a good chunk of my realm, assault my grandson and myself, attempt to steal a priceless Nightosphere artifact, and may have caused the death/total destruction of a dear friend of mine, as I saw a clone of the Reaper's go over to him just moments before his soul went silent. Honestly, I don't know how to take any of that other than as an act of war."_

" _You…!" The past Junior cursed. "You were in on Kare's plan!"_

" _Oh, so you liked my speech?" Hunson asked casually. "Please, tell me what you think? Will it wow the people on the council? Ah, who am I kidding? Oh course it will."_

 _Junior stood up as best he could, MJ still him his arm, as he used the scythe to keep himself up. "You have no proof." He said._

" _I've got a partially destroyed realm and a population's worth of thrice eaten souls that says I do." Hunson countered, tapping on his amulet. "You could try to deny some of it, but I don't think you've been on very good terms with a lot of the other realms lately. You really should try to be friendlier with people, Junior. Popularity can get you pretty far, I mean, look what it got me."_

 _Hunson snapped his fingers and several portals opened around him. From them emerged several different creatures. From one emerged two tall and very buff looking fairies with massive wands. From another emerged a half man/half jackal with two heads, clad in golden armor, carrying a large shield and a double-sided axe. The next had an angel, clad in Templar armor and holding a white glowing blade. Another had three large beasts emerge from it, all of them Pokemon covered in thick metal armor: Tyranitar, Alakazam, and Blastoise. And from the final portal emerged a squad of five Care Bears, each wearing an open-shirt camo jacket and carrying machine guns._

" _Nice, right?" Hunson commented. "The other members of the council insisted that if I ever got into trouble…specifically trouble with you…that I be able to receive help from their forces. They knew that if they ever got into a jam…specifically a jam involving you…that I'd be their best bet for saving them in the end. I refused their help at first, but I guess with you and your daughter attacking me, I was proven wrong, wasn't I?"_

 _Past Junior looked around at the soldiers standing against him. Even in his current condition, he was able to make his face unreadable to them as they tried to get a bead on him. He saw tiny beads of sweat forming on their heads. None of these beings wanted to be here. Not against him._

" _I can see your troopers shaking, Hunson." Junior said evenly, causing the forces to realize it themselves and attempt to stop themselves (though this awareness actually made their shaking worse). He looked at them with the same demonic stare that caused Walker and Mephisto to shake in their boots. "They won't dare raise a hand against me. They know what I can do to them."_

 _The soldiers gulped a little, certain they were about to die, but Hunson remained smiling. "Yes, Junior, I know. Your reputation quite proceeds you. On any given day you could massacre a group three times this size before they even left the portals all the way. Thankfully for them…"_

 _Hunson then backhanded Junior across the face, knocking the Reaper clear off his feet. Junior twisted his body as much as he could as he fell, as to not land on MJ._

 _All the soldiers stared in shock, each afraid to move as they didn't know what to expect next._

"… _today is not just any given day." Hunson finished. "At 100% you could have seen that attack coming a mile away and cost me an entire arm. But you're not at 100%. You're well below it, and soon…" Hunson nodded over to a rock in the distance._

The present Junior and Chi looked over to the rock, seeing a quick glimpse of a large eye on the rock before it disappeared in a flash of yellow light _._

"… _soon the entire Underworld and beyond is going to know that."_

 _Past Junior did his best to get up. He couldn't stand and had to use one shaking hand to support himself, as he was not going to let go of MJ to use the other arm. Seeing the feared Grim Reaper and slayer of the Bitch Queen in such a state put the soldiers at ease. They all had their weapons primed and ready for the moment Hunson gave the order._

 _Hunson walked up to Junior and crouched down to him. "But I'm not an unreasonable guy, Junior." He said. "We're both adults. We can easily work out a compromise to our problems and move past this."_

 _Junior glared at the demon, hatred blazing in his gaze. Hunson was unfazed._

" _HIM was interesting to have around. He never let go of the fact that control of the Demon Reaper slipped through his fingers. He was convinced that its power would give him control of the entire Underworld and perhaps more. Now…I'm not sure if this is true. Maybe deep down he just wanted to use you to stick it to your mother, I can't say for sure. But I do find myself wanting to test that theory. I don't think I need to tell you how well a giant soul-sucking monster spreads chaos and disarray." Hunson laughed as he nudged Junior with his elbow._

" _You want my power?" Junior asked weakly._

" _You?" Hunson exclaimed. "HA! No. No offense, Junior. You're a great Underworld lord and I almost wish Marceline had met you before Kare, but I think it's been pretty well established who is the more powerful Demon Reaper."_

 _Junior's grip on his daughter tightened. "You bastard…" He said behind clenched teeth._

 _Hunson smirked. "Just think about it for a moment, Junior. If you and I were to come to blows, do you really think you could keep her safe? Certainly not with the help I've got. And when everyone else finds out what she can do…what she is…they'll come after her. Out of the two of us, who can truly keep her safe? Who can keep everyone else safe from her? Just ask yourself, Junior: will you truly follow in your mother's footsteps and raise a war that will tear the Underworld in half, or will you give up your only daughter, the one you know full well you won't be able to stop next time?" Hunson extended out his hand to him. "So…do we have a deal?"_

 _Junior spat in his face._

 _Hunson didn't react much. He just stood back and turned back to the soldiers. "Well, that's that then. Go ahead, boys."_

 _The soldiers who could opened fire; the fairies, Pokemon, and Care Bears firing out a variety of blasts at him. He had not the strength to get out of the way, so Junior held his daughter tightly in front of him as all the damage was taken by his back. The jackal warrior and the angel came at him from both sides. Junior used his scythe to block the angel's sword, but could not avoid the jackal's axe, which left a nice large gash across his skull._

 _Junior rolled to get out of the way of his attackers, but underestimated the enemies' blast area and was struck again by them, sending him tumbling back until they ceased firing. As Junior started to slowly and painfully get back up the soldiers charged at him, their enemy's weakness very apparent._

 _With one more trick left up his sleeve, Junior's free hand glowed green and he shot out a large wave of energy at his attackers._

 _It was an attack that looked worse than it was, as after the soldiers raised up their arms to protect themselves, they discovered that all the blast did was kick up a large amount of dust._

 _As Hunson cleared the dust away from his vision, he watched as a scythe portal closed._

…

 _A scythe portal opened at Castle Grimskull and Junior and MJ fell out of it roughly._

" _Lord Death!" The skeleton guards exclaimed as they rushed over to help them._

The memory ended. The light faded from the Remembrance Orb and the war room was visible again.

"…I notice you didn't say a word about Hunson's ultimatum when you told me what happened." Chi said, still digesting all that she'd just seen and heard.

"That's because I'm not going to even entertain that as an option."

"Damn right we're not."

It was quiet between the two, neither knowing quite what to say to the other. Junior attempted to get up from his chair to pick up the papers that littered the ground, but Chi motioned for him to stay put and she started picking them up.

"He can't honestly think he'll win against us." She said.

"Take a look at some of those reports." Junior sighed. "He's got support coming in from all across the realms. Some of them I'm certain signed on the moment Bill got word to them that I'm weakened."

"You say that like you're the only one in our empire who knows how to fight." Chi pointed out.

"Chi, we both know how strong you are, but it's not fear of you that's been keeping enemies off our doorstep for the last decade."

Chi wanted to argue this but knew she honestly couldn't. Until MJ was born even she wasn't sure if Junior could ever be harmed by anything less than a divine being, and even then they'd have to get a few lucky shots in to stand a chance. She shared his bed and still had seen him just as invincible as everyone else did.

Chi flipped through the reports. "If Hunson is telling everyone what you supposedly did and what Mimi did, then doesn't that mean that people now know that he was harboring HIM, the war criminal who helped cause the war Mandy used to enslave half the Underworld? They can't all be okay with that."

"I doubt those who know Kare are, but then again, I imagine it also made their decision to join Hunson's side a lot easier." Junior theorized. "I don't think there was a single person in existence who could get on my mother's bad side as much as he did and still be left standing after. Knowing HIM was in Hunson's corner before his demise gives the impression that they've been collaborating for a long time on ways to take me down."

"Which they were." Chi added.

"Speculation isn't always wrong."

"But all those just to get his hands on a Demon Reaper?" Chi asked.

"I don't think he really cares about getting that." Junior said. "I think he said that just to get a rise out of me."

"What makes you so sure of that?"

Junior looked at her. "You think Hunson Abadeer of all people would believe in throwing your daughter to the wolves just to get out of trouble?"

Chi thought about it. "Point taken. But if he doesn't care about that power…in fact I can't seem to recall him ever caring about much else other than the Nightosphere…why is he doing this?"

Junior rubbed his throat before answering with a question of his own. "Do you know what Hunson is?"

"A demon." Chi answered. "Though not much beyond that." She admitted.

"Exactly. No one does." Junior pointed out. "Of all the Underworld lords, he's one of the oldest. Older than Kare, older than your father, older than even my father. He's older than sin, darkness, and death."

Chi raised a thoughtful eyebrow as she listened. Though they weren't on bad terms or anything, her father had rarely ever spoken of Hunson when she was growing up or what he could do. Now that she thought about it, not much was ever spoken about Hunson in general. Confining himself to solely the Nightosphere for so long, very little was actually known about him.

"The ancient scrolls and even the UnderNet don't have much on him." Junior continued. "Just that he comes from a time before time, where there were only monsters. As for why he's doing all this, I think his kinship with people like Kare and Bill is a good example. Kare causes chaos and pain because it creates misery. Bill does it because he thinks it's fun. And Hunson does it because it's what he is. He's chaotic evil incarnate. That's as much an excuse as anyone needs to tear the Underworld a new one."

"And all that in mind people still believe his sob story?"

"They believe it about as much as they believed me when I attacked Hell." Junior said. "Everyone knows this is a load of crap, but they don't care. They want me gone. They couldn't do it then. They have a shot of doing it now but only if they work with him." Junior cast his tired eyes on the floor. "Of all the metaphysical concepts not to have a physical embodiment, it had to be karma." He muttered under his breath. "Could have taken that out years ago if that was the case."

After another moment of quiet between the two, Junior tried to get up again, using the table to hold his weight. When it looked like he was about to fall again, Chi came over and helped steady him.

"…I knew this would happen." Junior said quietly as Chi helped him become upright. "The moment you asked me to have a baby, I knew someone was going to hurt her just to get to me." His comments were not directed at his wife and she could tell this. He was directing every bit of anger he had over their situation inward. It didn't matter that there was an actual enemy behind all this. All those grey faded eyes of his could see was that his family was in trouble and that it was his fault.

She held onto him caringly, wanting him to say something. She wanted to give him some kind of comfort, but he wouldn't even look at her.

Over the years, though he could be completely stone faced when he needed to be, Chi had learned to read her husband, at least better than most could. It wasn't always perfect, but there were times like these where she could see the gears moving in his head as he tried to form some strategy, any strategy that could pull them out of the danger of this war Hunson threatened them with. She could see the flickering of his eyes as they moved around the room, the spark of an idea coming to him as his eyes landed on the ring around her finger.

"Chi…" He started to say.

"No." She said instantly, catching on immediately to what he was going to do. "Don't you dare. Don't you f#%king dare!"

"Chi…" Junior continued, not allowing her to dissuade him. "I release you from our deal. You're free to go."

Chi gave Junior a good, hard smack across the face. It wasn't enough to knock him over but the sound was well echoed throughout the room. Junior turned his head back to face Chi. He could see the tears starting to form in her eyes through her face of incredible rage.

"…You damn…self-righteous asshole…" She cursed through her clenched teeth.

Junior stayed non-expressive. "The City of Aku is no longer connected to Death's domain. You can take MJ and protect her there. Even the backing of the other realms, Hunson wouldn't be able to get away with attacking another realm that has nothing to do with me."

A simple, yet brilliant political move. It was something he'd become quite good at over the years and Chi could see the many ways his idea would work.

That did not mean she was going to allow it.

Junior started to turn away. "Tell the guards to collect all the things you need. I'll send you to Aku City when they're done." He said coldly.

Chi forcibly grabbed him by the arm to turn him back to her. "No! You do not get to just push us away like this!"

"This is the best way to keep you safe." Junior argued.

"I don't care about being safe!" Chi countered. "And even if I did, you are not the one who gets to decide that!"

"Kare and Hunson's plan was to hurt me. Hunson has declared war with me. It has nothing to do with you." Junior raised his voice.

"They attacked our daughter to do so!" She yelled back.

"I am not having this argument! Take MJ and go!"

"NO!" Chi roared, the flames of her eyebrows blazing in her rage. "You think you're being some noble, self-sacrificing hero? Well you're not! You're giving up and trying to send us away because you don't want to face that!"

"You are not my wife anymore, Chi! Our deal is off! You don't have any power in Death's domain, now leave or I will make you!" Junior threatened.

"I am your wife because I love you!" Chi yelled, much to Junior's irritation as she refused to back down. "And I am not just going to abandon you just because your guilt complex makes you want to do everything on your own!"

"I AM NOT LOSING YOU AGAIN!" Junior finally burst out. These words echoed through room, leaving silence as they passed, only sound being the two rulers' last angry huffs of air, as their rage left them and was replaced by sadness.

Both were quiet for a long time and Junior was the one who broke the silence. "…I have had more bad days than I care to remember. …The day MJ was born…was almost another one of them." He said. Chi stayed quiet and allowed him to say his piece. "…I would rather have you be a million miles away from me and never see you again and know you're alive…than to have you dying in my arms a second time."

Junior would not meet her gaze when he finished. He looked off to the side of the room and only stopped when Chi touched his cheek gently and turned him to face her.

"…And I'm just the opposite." She said softly. "Of the two of us, who is known for being more stubborn until she gets her way?"

"Heh…" Junior couldn't help but give a small smile at Chi's words. "You can never make anything easy for me, can you?"

Chi smiled back at him. "Well…I am your wife, after all."

The distance between the two closed until they were wrapped in each other's arms. Junior was still angry that she was not going to leave and scared of what could happen to her. And the tightness of which he held onto her showed his incredible gratitude that she stayed regardless.

As minutes passed by, the two just stood there in each other's embrace, neither saying anything, just taking this moment to comfort themselves.

"…Been a while since we've had a fight like that." Chi commented, her head against his chest.

"Not since the Chainsaw Incident, I believe." Junior said.

Chi smiled at the memory. "That was a fun day."

"I try not to think about it or it gives me nightmares."

After a few more minutes, Chi finally broke up the hug.

"Go talk to her." She told him.

"I still have more work to do." Junior said. "I need to make sure-"

Chi put a finger up to his lips and shushed him. "No." She said. "Hunson, the war, all this can wait. Right now, your daughter needs you. You've been avoiding her since you got back and I get it, you don't like what you had to do to stop her and aren't ready to face that yet. …But she's scared. She has more power than she knows what to do with and she's afraid she'll hurt someone. She won't open up to me and I can't blame her. You are the only one who can understand what she's going through. Please…go talk to her."

Junior stalled for a minute, but soon nodded, knowing she was absolutely right.

"I'll be right here when you come back." Chi assured him.

Junior gave another nod in thanks as he grabbed his scythe and wordlessly left the room.

 **Chapter end**

* * *

Author's notes: So, turns out the rest of existence doesn't like Junior very much (gee, wonder why?) and Hunson is using that to his advantage. Go figure.

About the "Hunson being older than sin, darkness, and death" thing, that's something I got from his Wiki page, where he apparently has existed since before time, which would definitely make him older than Grim and Aku. He only appeared for a page or two in the actual Grim Tales story, so I look forward to seeing what Bleedman does with him and Walker at the Council meeting.

And I hope that the less bratty nature I've given Chi in this chapter is more due to her growth over the years as a ruler, wife, and mother, than it is to me just being really bad at writing her. But that's for you guys to decide (and maybe Bleedman, though I doubt he reads any of the Grim Tales fanfiction. It's got to be really weird to see the characters and stories you've created go in directions you never intended them to).

Side note: This teenage Box Lunch, in my head, sounds like Asami Sato from Legend of Korra. I have no idea why.

Side side note: The alternate title for this chapter was "Of hugs and bitch-slaps".

I'll try to have the next chapter up by around Christmas, but we'll see what happens.

 **QTP:** Junior and his daughter are finally going to talk about what happened, so how well is that going to go? Are bad things on the way now that the Underworld knows Junior is weakened considerably? Is Hunson's motivation really just chaos for chaos's sake? Are Junior and Chi going to be ok after all this?


	27. Before the Storm, part 2

**Part 27: Before the Storm, part 2**

 **CuteVyper:** You're definitely right about the talk sucking for both of them. Parent/child talk aren't the most comfortable things during even the troubling times that don't involve the supernatural. I am curious, do you use inspiration or ideas from other stories you've read in your own writings? Because I've done that quite often with the Grim Tales fanfics.

 **Emeraldalex123:** Yeah, Marceline will be in the story later, but she won't be as important to it as the main Grim Tales characters. Not that I don't like her or anything, just that the story is entering its final acts and I want to tie up all stories for the characters already being used, so Marcy will be part of tying up Jacob and Hunson's stories.

 **tylermech66:** Thanks for all the info. I'll have to look into this more later, this stuff looks really interesting.

 **SomebodyRandom:** I can understand that viewpoint all too well. Darth Sidious? The Joker? HIM? Let's see what these bad boys can do! Glad to hear that HIM's death (soul disintegration) is going over well.

 **Rising Reaper:** Why, thank you, and a merry Christmas/ happy Hanukka/ holiday to you as well! I'm planning on finishing this story, which is why I'm focusing on it before I work on others I have lined up (that, and my original plan for Minnie the Ascended fell flat on its face, so I'm trying to rework it).

 **Guest:** Thank you.

* * *

 **Chapter start**

Junior walked down the halls of Castle Grimskull, aided by the help of his scythe, keeping him upright enough as he walked with a very noticeable limp. He did not fear showing his weakness around his skeleton guards, as they existed solely to serve his will, but that didn't make him like his condition any. He supposed he could summon Jeff to assist him, but that would probably only serve to make him feel worse.

He powered his way through until he finally arrived at his daughter's room, still guarded by Box Lunch.

"L-Lord Death!" The ghost girl stumbled in surprise when he appeared before her. She was quick though to straighten herself and salute him. "Sir!"

"At ease." He ordered simply. Box Lunch lowered her hand and placed both arms at her side, assuming proper military stature (despite being a police officer). Junior took notice of the slight rosiness of the blue ghost's face, but as usual, said nothing about it. He'd known about Box Lunch's fixation with him for a long time and had nurtured it as soon as he had noticed it years ago. Box Ghost was loyal to him only so far as that his family was kept safe if he did what Junior said. If things ever got bad, such as how they are now, Junior couldn't be sure he could rely on him or the Ghost Zone if Box Ghost got a better deal down the line. Having someone with real loyalty on his side, someone who he could also use against Box Ghost if and when those bad times came… it was an opportunity the Reaper couldn't pass up.

At the moment Junior couldn't help but wonder how many similar opportunities Hunson and HIM have had over the years, gaining people whose loyalty they could guarantee in a war with him.

"How's she been?" Junior asked.

"I hear the rustle of sheets every now and then, but otherwise she's been pretty quiet." Box Lunch reported.

Junior processed her words and then signaled for her to move away from the door to let him through. She complied and stepped aside. Junior reached for the handle, but before he grabbed it he turned to Box Lunch.

"No matter what you hear coming for inside this room, do not enter without my exact permission. Understood?"

Box Lunch was a little frightened by the implications of his words, but gave a nod in agreement. "Yes sir."

Junior turned away from her and knocked lightly on the door as he opened it. "MJ? It's me."

The room was fairly dark, though Junior could still make out the movement coming from under the covers of his daughter's bed.

"MJ?" Junior said again as he entered.

"…Not…not now, dad…t-trying to sleep…" He heard come from under the covers. It was definitely MJ, though her words as she spoke sounded a bit strained.

Cautiously, Junior closed the door behind him and started walking towards the bed. "Your mother said that I should have a talk with-"

Before Junior could finish a black mass of tentacles exploded from the bedframe. Green gashes of light were spread along the appendages, with sharp green blades pointing out at the ends. In the center of this flailing mess was a large black shape, with large teeth, two bulbous green eyes, and short strawberry blond hair. Unlike the last two times Junior had seen this creature, there was a very obvious emotion of fear on its face as its limbs thrashed around the room uncontrollably.

" **Dad! Get back! I can't control myself!"** MJ cried as her body's blades went straight for him. **"DAD!"**

" **It's all right, MJ."** Junior said simply and her trashing stopped instantly. She stood quietly and stunned on her bed, like his words had hit directly into her brain. **"It's all right. Come here."** Junior held out his arms to her and she obeyed and moved forward to him. To her it was like he was speaking plain English and yet not. Like there was some strange guttural undertone as he spoke that was also somehow soft and soothing. She wafted over to her father and he hugged her tightly. **"I've got you.** " He assured her. **"It's ok."** Her body started to calm itself and her tentacles receded back within her. Her arms and legs restored themselves and her eyes reverted back to their natural grey color. The black beast was gone, once again leaving behind the small child clutching tightly to her father. "It's ok." Junior said one more time, this time normally.

After a minute until he was sure she was settled down enough, Junior set her back down on the partially destroyed bed.

MJ was in awe, not quite sure what to say and slow to say anything in fear of losing control again. "How…What…What did you do?"

"It's something I picked up from my sister." Junior explained. "When I first gained my Demon Reaper powers I couldn't control them and my Nergaling would try to take me over. Minnie would speak in Nergalese and get us both back under control."

"Did…did you do that when you were fighting against m-…against my Demon Reaper?" MJ asked.

"Once. The first time. You-…It…then slapped me through that mountain." Junior pointed out her window.

MJ looked but saw no mountain. "Uh…"

"I rephrase, it slapped me through what _was_ a mountain." Junior said, grateful for the chance of some levity. "The only reason I tried it this time was because you're in a weak enough state where it maybe could work."

MJ thought about asking what he would have done if it hadn't, but decided that she'd rather not know (and rather not make her father say). She looked at her arms. Though restored to normal, there were still bright green gashes running along them and she could almost feel her skin moving as her inner beast wished to be let loose again.

As MJ slid her arms into her pajama sleeves and held them to herself in an effort to keep herself under control, Junior took notice of the plates of food on her bedside table, cold and barely touched.

"MJ." He said, getting his daughter's attention. "I want you to eat this." He held out his hand to her and from his open palm a pale blue flame emitted.

MJ's eyes widened as she was almost entranced by the substance before her. "What…what is that?" She asked in awe.

"It's a soul." Junior answered.

It took a second, but when MJ realized what he'd said she snapped out of her daze. "What?! Are you crazy?!" She exclaimed, backing away from him. "I can't eat that! Who knows what I could-"

"MJ." He said sternly, getting her to stop in her tracks. "Eat it."

He held out the soul to her, making it clear this was not up for debate. Hesitating greatly as she did so, she let her father place the soul into her hands. It weighed nothing and had almost no presence as it sat in her palms. If it wasn't for the energy she could feel coming off the substance, she might not have been certain there was anything there at all.

She could feel her skin crawling again and prickling up, like her body was desperately trying to nip at it. Acting instantly on panic that she was going to lose control again, MJ shoved the soul into her mouth and swallowed it whole.

And as she felt the soul sliding into her stomach, she started to feel stronger. The gashes along her arms closed up and her skin stopped prickling. She even found it easier to think now too.

"Feeling better?" Junior asked.

"Y-yeah!" She said, still a tad disoriented by what'd just happened.

Seeing his daughter's confusion, Junior explained "Souls, spirits, and ghosts are the food of sustenance for a Demon Reaper. When we start running empty on them, the hunger can make it hard to control our actions, or at least our powers. That's another thing I learned way back, though not for a while. It takes a long time to completely digest a soul, so I was in my teens when it first happened to me."

MJ sat back down on her bed, feeling understandably weird that the essence of another being was now within her gullet (or whatever her species had). "…Is it-"

"No, souls can't be replaced with anything else." He said, anticipating her question. "Believe me, I've tried. It doesn't bother you after a while, especially if you're in control of who you eat. And going insane from hunger won't help anybody."

MJ shifted uncomfortably on her bed, due mainly to her uncomfortableness of what she'd just done, and will apparently have to continue doing in the future, but also in part because of the good amount of damage she'd caused to her bed minutes ago. The mattress and sheets were torn up and the frame cracked. Though admittedly the rest of the room didn't look much better from her tentacles thrashing about earlier.

Noticing MJ's discomfort, Junior raised his scythe and gently tapped the blade on the bed post. Purple waves of energy rippled through the bed as it began to repair itself. The fabrics of the sheets reattached and the wood creaked back into place. When the bed was finished the waves then spread out and began fixing the rest of the room.

"W-wow!" MJ said, honestly amazed.

"Yeah, well, in a place like the Underworld every good ruler needs to know a handful of repairing spells." Junior explained. "Your grandfather had a book full of them from across the realms. Probably needed them to keep up with that Billy kid."

When the creaking of the repairing room ceased, it was quiet again. Even as Junior sat down next to his daughter on the bed, neither found themselves quite brave enough to speak yet.

The moments ticked by a neither said a word.

MJ was the first to break the silence, though the moment she opened her mouth, all the events around her finally seemed to hit and she hit her breaking point.

"D-dad…" MJ said, her voice cracking a bit as she did. "…I'm sorry…"

"MJ…" Junior started, seeing the tears welling up in the corners of his daughter's eyes.

"I'm so sorry, dad." She started to cry. "If I hadn't gone to the Nightosphere…if I hadn't been so stupid! Then none of…none of this…"

Junior put his arm around her and brought her in close to him, letting her muffle her cries into his chest.

"No one blames you for what happened." He assured her softly as he hugged her. "You were as blindsided by HIM as the rest of us were. You have nothing to apologize for."

"But I hurt so many people!" She cried. "All those souls, Mr. Abadeer, you. If I just hadn't gone…"

"Then Kare would have gotten to you another way." Junior pointed out. "And even if he couldn't, he would have easily grabbed Jacob. From what I understand, if you hadn't been there he might have been forced to join him. Given what happens to Kare's kids, you saved your friend from a lot of grief down the road."

"Not that that did any good in the end…" MJ said under her breath.

Junior processed this. "…So you remember that part?" He asked.

"I remember a big red guy with a big bat face like Jacob had when HIM infected him with that Devil's Essence stuff." She explained. "…I don't remember much beyond that. I remember bits and pieces of when I was fighting you and Mr. Abadeer. I definitely remember being really afraid of Mr. Abadeer. But my memory blacks out a certain points. I don't remember what happened after Jacob started fighting me and I still don't remember anything from that gap in my memory from when I was born."

Junior stroked his chin. "These blackouts are probably the results of extreme pain." He theorized. "The Black Demon Reaper was working on pretty feral instinct. Put in enough pain it probably couldn't think much beyond hit the thing that hit it."

MJ's face stayed buried in her father's chest. The rage and sadness that boiled within Junior almost making him wish he was still fighting against Hunson's minions, as it was far easier than seeing his daughter in such a miserable state. He could feel her trembling quite easily through his robe and he held on tightly to her, wanting her to know he was there for her. What he could do for her, though, he wasn't quite sure.

He gave her another minute before tilting her up so he could see her. Junior gently brushed the remaining wetness from her dry eyes.

"What happened was not your fault." He repeated. "Believe me, I know the burdens that come with being a Demon Reaper. When I first changed, I lost control too."

"I know." MJ sniffed, slightly ashamed with herself for crying so much in front of her father. "Aunt Minnie told me about Halloweentown when she was explaining where she came from."

Junior slightly tensed up at the mention of the name. "Is she here right now?" He asked.

MJ shook her head. "No. I thought I saw her when I first woke up, but she disappeared right before mom noticed I was awake."

"Have you been able to contact her since then?"

MJ shook her head again, making it clear that she had at least tried, but to no avail.

Junior nodded in quiet understanding. It had been well over half a day since they'd escaped the Nightosphere when MJ woke up and Chi had never left her side that entire time. A moment of privacy between mother and daughter was something Minnie would know MJ was well deserving of after all she'd been through (and Junior highly doubt that either he or her was ready to face the other quite yet, if ever).

"She's probably back in that dreamworld or somewhere within your subconscious." Junior guessed. "That's what Nergal would do back in the day."

"Would do?" MJ asked in confusion.

Junior gave a nod. "I haven't been able to see or hear Nergal for years, not since my mother dropped that bomb on me. Nergal himself wasn't affected, being mental representation and whatnot, but the bomb destroyed the soul of my Nergaling, which was what connected me to that Nergal memory network. The only reason I still have Nergal abilities is because of the level of symbiosis we achieved. That's also probably how I got off as well as I did when the bomb hit, he took some of it for me."

"Sounds like you miss him." MJ said, noticing a bit of quietness as he spoke.

"He was a bit of a pervert, but I think you would have liked him." He mused with a small smirk on his face.

The quiet returned between them again and Junior hated it. His daughter shouldn't be afraid to talk to him, nor should he avoid speaking with her out of shame of his failures.

"I have a lot of things I want to talk to you about." He said, once again breaking the silence. "But…you have a lot of questions, I'm sure. And after everything you've been through, you deserve some explanation."

MJ looked at her father kind of wide-eyed in surprise. She was about to speak, but Junior cut her off. "But…but I need to say something first."

MJ studied her father's face, seeing the quiet solemnness of his features. She nodded in agreement for him to go ahead.

"Some of your questions…I will not be able to answer…at least not fully…and not because I don't know the answer." Junior said after taking a breath. "I am your father. It is my job, above everything else, to keep you safe. Everything I've kept from you over the years…and everything I will keep from you…all of it is to protect you. I didn't tell you about your powers or what happened when you were born because I didn't want you to face that yet. If all this hadn't happened, I don't know when or if I'd have ever told you. I don't want you to be ignorant, nor do I want to keep you hidden away your entire life. But I also don't want to ever see you hurt, especially because of me…" The room was silent between the two of them as both let Junior's words sink in. After a few minutes, Junior said "Alright. Go ahead."

MJ had many questions, each just as pressing against her mind as the next. But before any of them, there was one thing she had to know.

"Did I kill mom?" She asked decisively.

"No." Junior stated. "You did not kill her."

MJ went through his words carefully, trying to pick out if there was any technicality in his words. "When I saw the memory of when I was born…I saw what I did to mom." She said, needing to be sure. "I saw her in your arms and Jeff taking her away in a cocoon. I saw her eyes."

"…She was close." Junior admitted. "….Very, very close." He could see the hurt in his daughter's eyes as he spoke. "But she held on just long enough for me to save her. Your mother is a lot tougher than most give her credit for. She did not die. You did not kill her." He reinforced. "…You f%#ked up the castle and the guards, but she got out ok."

MJ cracked a small smile at her father's last bit. "Guess they didn't get off as easy." She commented with a slight bit of guilt beneath it.

"Never thought I'd say this, but why can't you take more after your mother?" Junior quipped. "She never cared when she hurt a servant. Hell, what you did was practically a windfall in comparison to how many I went through when we first got married. (I miss William)."

Relief filled MJ. She didn't kill her. Part of her deep down suspected that her father could be lying to her, but she pushed that thought away and denied any of its possibility, choosing instead to ask another important question.

"When will you seal off my powers again?" She asked.

"I'm not going to." Junior stated evenly.

MJ blinked, thinking that maybe she'd misheard him. "…What?"

"I'm not going to seal off your powers again." Junior repeated.

"But…why?" MJ asked in confusion. "I can't control them. They're dangerous. I'm dangerous! To everyone in this castle!"

"As was I at your age." Junior pointed out. "For the exact same reasons in fact." He showed her his arm and let the Nergal flesh covering his bones stretch out and take on different shapes, showing his control over his power. "I was a soul devouring monster who literally didn't know his own strength. At any moment I could accidentally split the castle in two and gobble up everyone inside. …But I had my sister there to keep me under control. I had Mimi, the girl you were named after, to give me a reason to learn to control my abilities. I was dangerous, but I also had people to help me." Junior's flesh stopped moving around and settled back onto his arm. "I sealed off your powers when you were a baby because I knew there was no way you were going to be able to control them at that age. Now I think you can, or at least should be allowed to try."

"But how?" MJ asked.

"I'll help you." Junior said, patting her on the back. "Once this whole incident dies down and we're both rested enough, I'll start training you on how to use your Demon Reaper abilities at will. Until then, I'll at least be able to help you adjust and stay in control."

MJ needed a moment to take it all in. After everything that'd happened…she couldn't believe her father believed in her so much.

"You ok?" Junior asked.

"Yeah…" MJ said. "It's just…thinking about how I always complained about never having any super cool demon powers like you and mom. Whenever I imagined getting them it was never like this."

"I know the feeling." Junior commented. "If Clockwork were still around I'd almost swear he was punking me with a repeat of history."

MJ went quiet. There was one more question she wanted to ask, but was hesitant to do so.

"…Will I ever be able to see Jacob again after the war?" She finally asked.

Junior's eyes almost widened at her question, but he kept his face straight. "…I know for a fact you were unconscious during that part." He said, the meaning behind that sentence quite clear.

"Well, I-.." MJ started to say but stopped, coming to the sudden realization that she in fact didn't know how she knew this information. "…I don't know. When I woke up…I just knew that Mr. Abadeer started a war with us."

As she sat in the confusion of her own mind, Junior tried to seem like he didn't know what she was talking about, but in truth he pieced it together rather quickly.

Minnie told her.

Or perhaps showed her. Either way had the possibility of MJ not being consciously aware of how she got this information, given how deep in slumber she was while recovering. Minnie was with Hunson the entire time during the battle. She was as sharp as their mother and Hunson certainly wouldn't have had any more reason to be subtle about his plan. Minnie easily could have figured out what Hunson had done, and she would then tell MJ about it, to keep her informed, likely because she figured Junior would not tell her. And she'd be right about that.

Junior furrow his brow in annoyance. The war was something he wanted to keep his daughter completely out of until he managed to gain control of the situation. He could lie and say she was just imagining things, but if and when Minnie would appear to her again, that lie would fall apart or at least cause her to start doubting his word. Denying it certainly wasn't a possibility anymore, not if he wanted to still have his daughter's trust when all this was over.

As Junior sat with stoned face silence for a few minutes, MJ shifted in discomfort next to him, unsure if she should say anything. "…Is he doing this because of what I did?" She asked, her tone showing that she was unsure if she wanted the truth on this question or not.

"No." Junior answered, still thinking. "This is something Kare, Hunson, and Bill have been building up to for a while. This has to do my crimes, not yours."

"From what I've heard, those three aren't exactly ones to be sitting in judgement of others." MJ pointed out.

"Perhaps I could have phrased that better." Junior murmured. _"The Underworld is not a place for good people."_ He remembered HIM saying before quickly bushing it way from his mind. "….Hunson is trying to start a war." He admitted. "That does not mean I'm going to let there be one."

MJ cocked her head slightly at him in confusion.

"I don't know if Hunson is starting a war with me because he wants to revel in all that chaos or because of some other motive, but I don't care. My mother's war hurt a lot of people and I'm not going to allow something like that to ever happen again. Especially not when you could get sucked up into it."

MJ was silent for a moment as she thought over his words. She then asked "But…what are you going to do?"

"I'll think of something." Junior immediately regretted these words, as he saw the bottled up and angsty look return to her features. "What I mean is…I've faced worse than Hunson before. He doesn't scare me and he's not going to be able to beat me. I'll find a way to stop this war because he isn't a threat to me."

MJ didn't say anything back and curled up into herself. He was at a loss for words as to how to get her to believe him, but then he remembered what she'd said earlier. She remembered being afraid of Hunson while she was the Black Demon Reaper. And very likely, she remembered how badly she hurt himself when they fought. It was simple A-B-C logic going through her head. The beast that nearly killed him was afraid of the man who wanted to kill him. MJ wasn't just afraid for herself. She was afraid for him.

Junior looked quietly at his daughter for a few minutes, before gently placing his hands on hers and signaling for her to look at him.

"Do you remember back when you were four years old and you kept having all those nightmares?" He asked.

Slowly, MJ nodded her head.

"And every night you had those nightmares, I'd come into your room and find you cowering under the sheets, hiding from all the monsters you were afraid were going to grab at you the moment you poked your little head out." He continued. "Do you remember what I did during those nights?"

MJ remained silent so Junior went on.

"I'd pat you on the back and sit down and let you know I was there. You'd slowly start peeking out of that sheet until you felt safe and then I'd tuck you back in. I'd stay with you until you were finally able to drift off and fall asleep. And do you remember what I'd say to you during each of those nights?"

MJ stayed quiet, but squeezed his hands tightly. And Junior just smiled softly at her.

"I said that you never have to be afraid of any monster or demon coming after you while you sleep or while you're awake. They all know to stay away, because there's no monster in existence scarier than I am."

MJ didn't meet his gaze, as she was too busy tried to hide her embarrassed and appreciative blushing face. All she could manage to say was "…Except me, apparently."

"Excuse me, but who won that fight?" Junior asked, pretending to sound offended.

"Jacob." She pointed out.

"Well, fine, if you want to get technical."

MJ let out a little chuckle at his joking. After a minute, Junior moved closer and gave his daughter a hug, which she then wrapped her arms around his midsection to return.

"…You and your mother are the most important things in the world to me." He told her softly as he held her close to him. "The rest of existence can burn for all I care, but I will never let either of you be harmed."

"What about Jeff?"

"He's a grown-ass bug. He can take care of himself."

"Arachnid."

"Whatever."

After the hug of comfort, Junior let go and got up off the bed. He handed MJ the edge of the sheets and she laid down so they could cover her.

"Try to get some sleep, alright?" He said as he tucked her in.

"Alright." She still had many questions she wanted to ask, but they were both too emotionally exhausted to do any more tonight

Junior leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. "If you need anything, have Jeff be the one who brings it to you. He's a ragdoll. You'll find his soul much harder to rip out if anything goes wrong."

"Ok." She nodded, looking slightly at ease by this information.

Junior went to the door, but before he turned the handle, MJ said "…I love you, dad."

"I love you too, sweetie."

Junior waited until MJ curled up in her sheets before he opened the door and left the room, shutting the door softly behind him.

Box Lunch resumed her guard of the door. She gave him a salute as he wordlessly walked away. She would have said something, but something about his, for lack of a better word, grim expression told her that it was not the time.

In their worry over the same child, neither the ghost nor the Reaper saw that tiny black mouse that skittered away from the shadows under the door.

* * *

The mouse ran down the halls of the castle. No guards or cameras were alerted to its presence. It had lived here long enough to know how to avoid them all, at least on the path it was taking.

Finally it arrived at the door it wished to and melted into a shadow, sliding under it with ease.

On the other side it became the mouse again. It scurried across the floor of the war room to where its source sat waiting for it.

Chi picked up the mouse into her palms as it squeaked to her. She closed her hands together around the mouse and absorbed it back within herself.

Every bit of the conversation between her husband and daughter that her mouse had witnessed, she now knew.

As the memories filled her mind, a tear rolled down from the shadows of her face and the flames above her eyes increased in heat.

In her life, Chi had found only four people she ever truly cared about.

Hunson was going to pay for hurting the only two she had left.

* * *

Death's queen made her way silently down the mountain, the jagged terrain being no trouble for an experienced shapeshifter. None of the sentry guns or cameras were going to spot her. She'd lived there long enough to avoid them, at least the ones on the path she took.

She'd stopped by her private room earlier to pick up a few things. She left a double of herself in the war room, just in case, though she doubted her husband would be returning there any time soon. From what her mouse had seen, Junior left in a different hallway than the one he'd arrived in. The one he chose led to his office, where he was no doubt going for a few minutes of privacy to compose himself.

She'd changed out of her royal gown and into something more suited to the task at hand. It was a simple black and red samurai kimono that she now wore, just large enough to hide a few surprises underneath, with a blood red blade kept sheathed with her sash.

Once she'd made it to the bottom of the mountain and got far enough away from the castle's view, Chi stood and waited until they arrived.

From out of the shadows, five of Chi's red clad servants emerged, each giving a bow to their queen as they appeared before her.

"You summoned for us, my lady?" The leader of the group bowed.

"Did you bring what I requested?" She asked.

The servant nodded and signaled for another to step forward. From this one's satchel he pulled out a carton of Bug Milk.

"Good. Draw the face." She ordered as she pointed at the rocks.

Another of the servants bowed and pulled out a black sharpie. As he worked on drawing the smiling face, the leader of the group turned to Chi and asked "Are you sure about this, lady Chi? This is a man thought by many to be an equal to your father. He will not go down as easily as others we have faced."

Chi stood patently as the servant finally finished his drawing. "Hunson's made his position perfectly clear." She stated. "He wants to face the wrath of our empire, then I'll bring it right to his doorstep."

"We are with you to the end, my queen." The leader bowed and the others followed suit.

Chi appreciated their assurance, but stayed evenly composed. "Toss it on." She ordered.

The servant chucked the carton at the smiley face, splattering the milk all across it.

"Maloso vobiscum et cum spiritum!"

The rock split open, the portal to the Nightosphere blazing flame and smoke as Chi and her servants rushed on through it.

* * *

As Chi had predicted, Junior was in his office. He'd arrived moments ago and just stood there silently with his back against the door.

Then he screamed with rage and drove his scythe through his desk.

The blade went clean through it and became embedded in the floor. Junior pulled it out and then slashed at the bookshelves. Then the drawers. Then everything else he could possibly hit in the room.

The damage he caused was a testament to how weakened he was. Any other day this level of rage would have obliterated this room and every other along the same hallway. Today, it amounted to broken furniture, scratches on the walls, and pages flying everywhere. Junior even had to drop his scythe and slump down onto the floor, his body too drained to keep him standing.

He'd never felt so helpless.

Not when Mimi died, not when Minnie's soul was destroyed, not when Mandy almost killed him, not even when fighting against his own daughter at the risk of killing her. None of those compared to now.

Because this time he knew what he could do, and why he can't do it.

He could go to war with Humson and the other realms. He could even see plenty of scenarios where he'd win.

But the last war had nearly torn the Underworld apart. The last war had cost him everything and he hadn't even been a main player in it until the very end.

If he did this…MJ and Chi…how much longer would he be able to hold onto them?

If he didn't act, he couldn't protect them. If he did act, he could lose them.

Junior had long been prepared for war, in every way except that he didn't want to be in one ever again.

"… _What do I do?"_ He lamented as he sat on the cold stone floor.

He sat there in quiet and gazed solemnly at his reflection in the scythe's blade.

…There was one more option he had…

One person he could ask who easily could have thought of something he hadn't…

Junior stood and picked the scythe off the ground. He gripped it with both hands and he breathed and focused on what he was doing.

The entire scythe, staff and blade, glow green as he focused. Junior raised the scythe high in the air, before burying the blade into the center of the room.

Light radiated outwards from the impact point and the sickly green color filled the room. Junior let go of the staff and stood back.

From the point where the blade curved into the ground, the light began to form a translucent figure. A figure of a woman with long blond hair and two demonic red eyes that instantly recognized the man before her.

The same man who'd killed her.

"Junior."

"Mother."

 **Chapter end**

* * *

Author's notes: Behold! The surprise that's a surprise to no one, but everyone (including myself) would string me up by my behind for not including within the story: the return of the (ex) queen Mandy!

It'll go about as well as you'd expect….maybe.

QTP: So…Junior and Mandy meet again for the first time since he killed her…how's that conversation going to go? What have Chi and her guards gone to the Nightosphere to do? Should Minnie have told MJ about the war that's coming? How will MJ adjust to life (afterlife?) as a growing in power Demon Reaper? And why, in the midst of war and chaos, has Junior summoned forth the soul of the most hated and evil being in existence?


	28. Mother's Pride

**Part 28: Mother's Pride**

 **nightmaster000:** Well, short term they know exactly what they're doing. Long term…err…well, it's Junior and Chi. Some things never go quite according to plan.

 **Emeraldalex123:** Drastic is Chi's middle name (though, technically, it would be her last name, as I don't think Aku has a last name to give her). But stick around for the next chapter, because that's when Chi strikes.

 **Guest:** Short words, but ones I can appreciate. Thank you.

* * *

 **Chapter start**

Just as with the last time he'd seen her, there was a good mix of emotions spinning around within the Grim Reaper, mainly consisting of guilt, love, and unyielding rage. In spite of this Junior stood straight and presented a calm demeanor, not allowing for there to be any weakness for the former queen to spot.

As Mandy's translucent soul floated above where the scythe was embedded into the floor, her eyes shifted slowly at her surroundings, recognizing that she was in her late husband's former office. She started putting together what her situation was from there.

With almost fifteen years being how long it had been since they'd last seen each other, there was really only one way this conversation could start.

"You look like crap." She said.

"Yeah, well, that's thanks to a couple of old family friends of ours." Junior stated simply. He could stand as straight as he wanted, but even his thick black robe was not enough to hide all the injuries he'd sustained from the Black Demon Reaper, so there was little point in hiding it. Not that he had to say it was MJ who caused them. "Hunson and Kare. Oh, and by the way, great job there. You managed to destroy everyone within the Land of Tainted Souls with that damn bomb of yours except for the one guy you were aiming for."

"Kare's still alive?" Mandy asked. Whether or not she was surprised by this news, she didn't show.

"Not anymore." He stated.

Mandy eyed him carefully, studying his face and his words. Again, it wasn't like he had to tell her the full truth of everything that happened, especially not in in regards to Kare's final words with him.

Still, Junior believed it was probably a good idea to change the topic, lest he accidentally give her something to hold over him. "What's the last thing you remember?"

"You killing me." She stated simply. Given how her usual demeanor was, it was hard to tell if she was even angry about falling that day. From the sound of it she was stating it as simple fact. "And I'm guessing you reaped my soul right after and trapped me inside the scythe." She said, eyeing the Reaper's weapon embedded in the floor.

Junior nodded. She always was one to catch on quickly. "Surprised that I've let you back out again?" He asked.

"More surprised that I'm not waking up in Hell." She commented. "With all I've done throughout my life, I'm sure there are a plethora of beings down there that would have been delighted at the opportunity to beat and rape me for all eternity. And there certainly wasn't enough lost love between us for you to think I didn't deserve that."

"We both know that you'd be running that place in a week." Junior pointed out, causing Mandy gave a small shrug. "There was no way I was going to leave someone like you where I couldn't keep an eye on you. And suspended animation within a magic artifact only I have access to? Hard to beat that. Bet you don't even know how long it's been since you died, which is the idea."

Mandy gave no noticeable reaction to his bragging, simply saying "You could have just eaten me and been done with the whole thing."

"According to the stories dad told me and Minnie growing up, the last thing that ate you found you a little too…spicy." Junior defended. "True or not, I like being in control of my own brain and figured it'd be best not to tempt fate."

"Fair enough." Mandy said with another shrug. "So, did you bring me back here just to gloat at me or do you actually want something?"

"I need to know about your contingency plans." Junior stated.

Mandy raised an eyebrow at his words. "Contingency plans?" She asked, noticeably not denying anything.

"It's no secret that you wouldn't be happy unless you had all the Underworld under your boot." Junior explained. "But just because you're a power-drunk old bat doesn't mean you're stupid. You didn't go around picking fights with the other lords unless you were sure you'd win. Even when HIM started causing us trouble during the Halloweentown incident, you didn't go at him right away. You had plans, you had connections, and you knew weaknesses in each of the other lords, at least enough of them so that no one could force your hand when you weren't ready. I need to know these. All of them."

Mandy looked at him quietly for a minute before answering. "Even if such plans did exist, why the hell would I tell you?" She challenged.

"Because I said so." He stated.

If Mandy was any less of a bitch she might have snorted at his statement. "Junior, I've done what you're trying to do many times before and done it far better. I know all the tricks to intimidation and, believe me, you've got a long way to go before you're at my level."

"I'm not trying to intimidate you." Junior said calmly. "It's just like I said: You're going to tell me what I want because I said so."

There were no scoffs or snorts that came from the former queen this time, for the moment she was about to talk back to him her body stiffened and it felt like something became lodged in her throat. Her chest tightened greatly and it was all she could do to not keel over.

The tall black form of her son made no change in expression as he watched. "You've probably never been on this side of the situation before, so allow me to explain." He said darkly as Mandy struggled to move. "I am the Grim Reaper. I am the lord of Death and master of souls. I decide what happens to those I reap and there is no being, mortal or non, who can overrule that. You are not the great mighty queen you once were. You are a soul that I have collected and decided to keep for my own. In case it isn't clear, let me spell it out for you." Junior grabbed her by the neck, pulling her forward to his face to better emphasize his point. **"I own you!"** He let go of her and tossed her back to where she was. Her anger was quite clear, though she still could do nothing about it. As her paralyzed body glared at him, Junior continued, normal voice returning. "You have no choice in this matter. You are going to tell me what I want to know and you're going to do it now."

At his words Mandy's body nearly convulsed as she tried to fight it off. She could feel the words trying to make their way out of her throat as her mind betrayed the rest of her and wanted to give in to the one who declared himself her master.

Junior watched as calmly as he could as his mother fought his power through her sheer force of will. She was not spilling her secrets, though it was clearly taking everything she had to do so.

"Stop fighting me." Junior said. "Just tell me what I want to know and this will be over."

His eye twitched as she still refused to give in. Even through her pained expression, her demonic eyes made sure to never back away from his.

Junior anger started to flare up. "You are dead! You are not ever going to come back! These plans are of no use to you anymore! It's over! Just tell me what I need to know!"

Mandy's body started shaking slightly more as her mouth started to open. Junior's eyes lit up in anticipation.

And then she spoke.

"Go to Hell."

Junior sharply backhanded her. She fell, but the scythe prevented her soul form from going through the floor. Junior grabbed her again by the neck. He couldn't actually strangle her, but the intention was clear.

"Just tell me!" He roared, his hands shaking as they gripped around her throat.

Pain shot through Mandy's entire being. The Grim Reaper was a being of great power and no soul was exempt from his dominion. The act of defying him, let alone for this long, was unheard of and should be impossible. But still, though the agony it caused her was clear, Mandy still refused to give in.

"…No." She finally managed to say.

The sheer power and rage of Junior's aura filled the room. It could not be seen but it could certainly be felt, like a typhoon of blazing darkness, with wave upon wave of power crashing into the former queen, demanding that she give in.

And even with that, it was clear she would not.

Junior's storm of power ended and he let go of her neck. He back away from her and clutched his head, both from dizziness and failure. His leg felt like it was going to give out from under him again and he was half-tempted to let it.

Mandy rubbed her throat where he'd been holding her, finally able to move freely again. She breathed slowly to recover from the ordeal, doing so more out of memory than need, as she didn't have lungs anymore.

She glared at her son, who was not facing her at the moment, still reflecting on his failures. Her anger with him was quite clear. However, there was something else she was feeling now too. Something she'd sensed from him just moments ago.

"If you were like you were the last time we met, you may have been able to win that battle of wills." She said, catching Junior's attention, though he still didn't turn to face her. "But just now, you weren't fighting me with will. You were fighting with desperation. You didn't want my plans, you needed them. And believe me, that makes a difference."

Junior stayed facing away from her.

"If what you've said is true, about Kare being gone, then your only real threat is Hunson, correct?" Mandy asked. "I know Grim was wary of him because of his deathless nature, but Hunson has never been that much of a threat to the other Big Five realms. He primarily cares about the Nightosphere and Ooo."

"It's not just him I'm going up against." Junior explained, finally turning to look at her. "I haven't exactly been living a paragon life since I took your throne. I tried scaring everyone into playing nice with each other and made a lot of enemies doing so. Now all those enemies are joining up with Hunson because they think he has the best chance of taking me out."

"If you had enough power to scare everyone that badly in the first place, then I'm sure you have enough to actually take them on. What do you need my help for?" Mandy asked honestly.

"I'm trying to avoid a war!" Junior stressed. "I'm trying to avoid destroying everyone's life like you did!"

"If all these people are taking a stand against you, then what do you care?" She pointed out. "If I recall correctly, your problem with my war wasn't that I was trying to crush Kare (you believed even more than I did that he deserved everything that was coming to him), but that I was going after other realms that weren't involved. If these people are taking the fight to you, why would you feel any need to spare them?"

"Maybe because unlike you I don't feel the need to beat the universe senseless until it bows down at my feet." Junior spat. "Maybe because I'm fine with live and let live."

"Oh, for God's sake." Mandy rolled her eyes. "I think I'm actually having flashbacks to similar arguments I've had with your father."

"You know, it really says something when Death has a higher regard for life than you do." Junior shot.

"Yes. It shows that the Underworld let itself get too content with all their rules and safety measures." Mandy shot back. "The council did everything in its power to appease me after Kare took a swing at my empire, all because they were afraid a war coming that was long overdue. And now you are doing same." She added with disgust. "You have half of existence that wants to wipe you out and you're doing everything you can to play nice and hope they'll go away."

"I don't have the luxury that you did!" Junior screamed. "Unlike you, I actually give a damn if the people I love get hurt!"

It took Junior a minute and then he realized what he'd just revealed to her.

"…So that's it." Mandy said in realization as her son avoided her gaze. "You have a family now…"

Junior stayed quiet for several minutes. He wanted to tell her nothing. And he also wanted to tell her everything.

"This war is happening partly because of them, isn't it?" She asked, slightly softer than her normal tone.

"…..my daughter…" He said quietly. "Hunson and Kare knew the best way to get to me was through her. They went after her. Things…things went very badly."

"Reminds me of when you were a child." Mandy commented.

Junior took in a small breath before continuing. "…She nearly died… it was too close... And with this war coming…MJ…Chi…I can't lose them to it."

"Then protect them."

"I can't." Junior stated.

"Why not?" Mandy asked sharply.

"Because I can't." Junior stated again.

"Why not?" Mandy asked again, not accepting this as an answer.

Junior boiled within until finally he snapped. "Because when have I ever been able to protect anyone?!" He yelled. "Look at me! I'm not just Death, I'm the fucking Demon Reaper! Everyone I've ever known and cared about has died, some worse than others! You killed dad, I killed you, Minnie died twice because of me, Mimi gave up her life to save mine. Hell, I couldn't even save my own wife when the time came and hours ago, I nearly killed my own child, for the second time!" His rage and sadness etched through his features clearer than ever before, every last thing that had built up within him finally being allowed to be let out. "I've…I've never been strong enough! …If this war comes…if I can't stop it…I will lose them! …I honestly can't see it going any other way…"

As his words trailed off, Junior rage quelled and he dipped his head, amazed and ashamed with himself for such a display in front of his mother. Part of him wanted to just and end the talk and run away, but the rest of him just didn't care anymore.

"I just… I can't do it…"

The soul of Mandy floated silently before the defeated Reaper.

"Did I ever tell you about the day your father and I met?" She asked.

"The entire Underworld knows that story." He sighed. "Your friend Billy's hamster was about to croak. Dad showed up to collect him and the two of you played a game of limbo for its life and his freedom."

"Have you ever thought about what should have happened that day?" Mandy asked, placing a good deal of emphasis on 'should'.

Junior tilted his head back up, looking at her in confusion.

"He should have taken Mr. Snuggles and left. That's it." She stated. "Contrary to popular belief, Grim was one of the most powerful beings in all the Underworld, certainly powerful enough to have become one of the Big Five lords without my help. And even I'm not arrogant enough not to realize what the difference in power between the two of us was back then. I was a dark child with unmatched potential, but still just a child. If Grim had wanted to, he could have destroyed me and Billy in seconds for daring to defy him.

"But he didn't. He tried to compromise. He tried to play nice and because of that he ended up losing everything, all because he let himself be pushed around by beings far beneath his notice. A trait you unfortunately seem to share with him."

"Hunson is one of the Big Five rulers of the Underworld." Junior pointed out.

"And what are you?" She asked. "I don't know what you've done since I've been away, but like you said, you're the Demon Reaper. You fought off the greatest warriors of the Underworld when you were ten and killed the Queen who brought all of existence to its knees years later. I didn't exactly let you win that fight, Junior. I fought to end you. Hell, I would have if I hadn't underestimated you. That's a mistake I certainly won't make next time."

Junior raised an eyebrow skeptically. "What do you mean next time?"

Mandy made a small smirk. "The scythe is a well thought out prison, I'll give you that, but it's not going to hold me forever. I'll find a way out. I always do. And when I do I'm going to crush you and take back my empire. But until then I want to make sure it's a kingdom worth taking back. So you'd better take good care of it."

"It's unnerving how what you're saying runs parallel, yet almost in the exact opposite direction of what Kare's last words to me were." Junior commented. "He wanted to make sure there was going to be someone after him to cause strife throughout the Underworld. You just want me to hold onto it until it's your turn again."

"I've never exactly been good at sharing, even if it does serve me in the end." Mandy commented. "Always found it strange that a devil like Kare could be so ok with it."

"You are known for being worse than the devil, so that's not so surprising." Junior pointed out.

"True." Mandy shrugged. She then got to the point of what she was saying. "For now, this empire is yours. Which means what happens next is your choice and no one is going to make it for you."

"But I…I don't know what to do." Junior said.

"Yes you do." Mandy stated evenly. "You're just looking for someone to give you permission to do it or someone to forbid you from it. Either one takes the guilt off your conscious. And that's why I'm not going do either for you. I'm not going to tell you what I would do. I'm not going to tell you to run or fight. The only thing I will tell you…the one bit of advice I will pass to…whatever you decide, do the one thing your father never did until the very end of his life. One of the final things I can respect him for: make your decision and don't back down from it."

Junior stood quietly for a moment, before finally reaching down to the staff of the scythe. "…It was nice talking to you again, mom."

"Next time we meet, it won't be as pleasant." She warned him.

Junior took a moment before looking back at her. "Wouldn't have it any other way."

He pulled the scythe out of the floor and as it left, Mandy's soul was sucked back within it, buried deep down until her presence was felt no more.

Junior stood silently and reflected. He hadn't gained anything he'd wanted from the conversation he'd wished to never have. Interestingly enough, it may have caused him to lose something instead.

His doubt.

He had a plan. One that had been forming in his skull long before any of this mess started.

Junior curled his fist and turned to leave his office.

It was time to show them all what they'd been scared of.

 **Chapter end**

* * *

Author's notes: This chapter feels hit and miss to me, so I would appreciate some feedback on it to see what you guys think.

Anyway, Junior's not running anymore. His kingdom and his family are in danger and it's time for him to strike back. See how that goes in the upcoming chapters. Until then, good night everybody!

 **QTP:** What's Junior about to do? What did Mandy mean by "the final thing she can respect Grim for"? What's Chi going to do in the Nightosphere? Will there be any consequences from Junior's secret imprisonment of the Bitch Queen? And will the Bitch Queen ever rise again?


	29. Mother's Wrath

**Part 29: Mother's Wrath**

 **nightmaster000:** Why, thank you very much.

 **Rising Reaper:** I'm glad you liked it. To answer your question, I did explain what happened to Grim, but it was in the story that came before this one,  Grim Tales: End of Reign, so don't feel too bad about not knowing or not remembering it. Anyway, Mandy used the waters of the fountain of youth (in bullet form) to bring Grim to life. But since Grim is Death and Death is not supposed to be alive, there were…complications. Basically the waters tried to keep him alive while his natural essence tried to kill him. Eventually the two forces cancel each other out and Grim with it. So he's not exactly dead. It's more like either he was completely destroyed, soul and all, or he's on another plane entirely that is beyond life, death, and the Underworld. Either way Mandy made sure that Grim wasn't coming back.

 **Emeraldalex123:** I'm glad people seem to be liking the conversation between Junior and Mandy. That was a part of the story I was worried that wouldn't turn out well just because I don't have quite the hang of writing Mandy's character yet.

But yeah, I'd like to think Mandy would be proud of Junior for taking her life and her throne and wants him to succeed. She just can't make it easy for him.

And this is the chapter Chi does stuff, so hopefully you'll enjoy it. Thanks again for reading.

 **ReadLoverNumber1:** Thank for saying so. And also I'm happy to see a new reader/reviewer. I hope I can get this story to stay good until the end, as I'm trying to wind things down into the final acts. But we'll see. Thanks again.

* * *

 **Chapter start:**

Down in the Nightosphere:

"I don't like this." The angel said.

"Hm?" One of the Jackal warrior's heads said while the other took a sip of coffee. Both men stood guard inside Hunson's palace.

"Hunson is a demon of pure chaos and madness. I do not like that we're helping him." The angel explained bitterly.

"Understandable. But considering that by siding with him we're taking a stand against the Grim Reaper, it's not like this is a favor for Hunson." The Jackal's other head explained.

"Choosing the lesser of two evils is still choosing evil." The angel pointed out. "If my teacher, the Redeemer, were still around there's no way he would have stood for this. He would argue that we should just let these two mongrels fight it out and destroy each other."

"Clearly your boss thinks otherwise." The Jackal warrior retorted, causing the angel warrior to glare at him. "Probably because the last time two Underworld beings went at it, one of them nearly conquered all of existence, including Heaven."

"And now her spawn seeks to do the same, or at least that is what Abadeer claims." The angel spat his name, making it clear he didn't trust anything that came from the demon's mouth. "…My teacher once told me the tale of when he went to the Underworld to collect a noble soul and first met the Demon Reaper, back when he was but a child. Sometimes I wonder how much trouble would have been avoided if he'd recognized what Junior would become some day and just slain him on the spot."

"To be fair, we had a similar opportunity not too long ago." The jackal commented.

"You mean when the Reaper was weakened?" The angel asked.

"I mean when his daughter was."

The angel raised a questioning eyebrow.

"You've heard the rumors, I'm sure. Half of existence has by now." The jackal went on. "That she was responsible for the destruction of the Nightosphere. If it is true that she is a Demon Reaper like her father, aided by the bloodline of Aku, then the threat she represents for us all is just as great, if not greater, than that of Junior."

"So you're saying that because she escaped us with her father, we missed our chance to end that threat?" The angel asked.

"And that, like your teacher, if we had ended that threat, we would have been responsible for the murder of a child."

The angel opened his mouth to respond but paused and then went silent. "…As immature as it sounds of me…I do not like that the battle of good vs. evil has so many grey areas…"He said sullenly.

"I don't think any of us are supposed to." The jackal patted him on the shoulder.

The two resumed their guard in silent, partially distracted as they pondered their situation.

Distracted enough so that they did not notice the unnatural shifting of the shadows behind them.

In a flash of red, the angel warrior's head was severed cleanly from his body with nary a sound.

Before the jackal warrior had time to react to his fallen ally, Chi grabbed him from behind, wrapping around his body to pin his arms. Her left arm formed a muzzle to silence the warrior's two heads, while her right jabbed hard into the side of his stomach.

"Abadeer's location. Now." She whispered into his ear. She loosened the muzzle on one of the heads, allowing it to talk, but keeping it tight enough so he couldn't shout.

"Why would I tell you?" He growled through his teeth.

"Because this arm of mine that I've jabbed into your midsection? I can shapeshift it until it's small enough to enter your bloodstream and travel along through it." She threatened calmly. "You know what it feels like to have every vein in your body burst at once?"

"Then I would die and you'd gain nothing!" The jackal pointed out, refusing to be intimidated.

"I know." She said. "That's why I'm going to start small."

Even if the jackal had the ability to scream, he would not be able to. He felt his arm tear apart and explode from the inside, sending such blinding pain through him that his brains could barely comprehend it.

"Three more limbs, then your torso and other head. I have options. How about you?" Chi whispered darkly to her victim.

"Alright!" The jackal whimpered. "His office...down the hall…right next to the main balcony."

"Is he alone in there?" She asked.

"Yes." His said strenuously.

"What about his family?"

"His grandson is in his room, still recovering. Marceline is still in Ooo. Hunson hasn't told her about what's happened yet."

This stuck the queen's curiosity. "Why hasn't he told her?"

"I don't know! I swear!"

Chi studied the jackal's faces. He was clearly in too much pain from his arm to lie properly to her.

"Good boy." She whispered. The jackal's eyes went wide as his body made one sudden jerk, before he went limp and fell dead, brought down by as relatively painless of a stroke Chi could give him.

Chi placed his body silently on the floor and retracted herself from him, resuming her normal form. She'd suspected his office was where he'd be, but after finding these two, she figured it'd be best to be sure, and to make sure they wouldn't interfere. If her plan was to work, it needed to be just Hunson she'd face.

* * *

The Nightosphere ruler was in his office, just as the jackal had said, for when Chi got close, she saw the doorknob turn. She hid herself from view just before the door opened and Hunson stepped out, his stomach grumbling.

"Triple decker with mustard or the Pizza guy again? Ah, the choices." He said to himself as he walked along the balcony, likely heading towards the kitchen.

Chi eyed him carefully, finding her target by the glint of the purple Nightosphere Amulet around his neck.

This needed to be quick and clean.

She trailed carefully behind him, using her shapeshifting to travel in the shadows in silent. She had to act before he left the balcony or she'd risk others finding them.

She slowly unsheathed the Devil's Essence infused katana.

She then leapt right at Hunson, catching him by surprise and grabbing the amulet.

Unfortunately, it would not budge from his neck.

Chi slashed down at him with her sword, but Hunson's leg swept straight up above his head ("Karate kick!"), striking her and knocking her back behind him.

Chi landed with grace, her sword held steady at her side, while Hunson turned to face her.

"Chi!" He smiled. "I honestly wasn't sure if I'd be seeing you today. How have you been? Have you lost weight?"

Chi just glared at the ruler.

"Ah, feeling a little sore that that plan just now didn't work?" He asked. "Don't beat yourself up over it. Trust me, every now and then someone makes a grab at it. I've worn it for so long that the only times it ever comes off is when I let it."

"Like when my daughter took it from you?" Chi glared.

"Yeah, exactly." Hunson said casually. "If it was that easy I'd have been overthrown a long time ago, but hey, good effort." He gave a thumbs up with both hands. The gesture annoyed Chi to no end, but she kept herself calm.

"Figured it was at least worth a shot." Chi shrugged. "In a way, this is even worse for you. Without your powers this could have been over quickly. Now…I get to make you suffer." She pointed the blade's tip at the Nightosphere ruler.

"Ooh…that's not bad. Reminds me of Aku back in the day." He applauded her. "Which reminds me, how are the Monochromicorns I gave you two doing?"

"Mandy made them into glue after she killed my father."

Hunson blinked for a moment. "…Wow...just…wow. That's…that's pretty heartless even by my standards. I mean, I've made those things into glue before and that stuff barely sticks to anything enough to be-"

Chi dove at him in midsentence. With his superior flexibility, Hunson simply bent himself back at a 90 degree angle to avoid her sword.

And that's when he saw the five red servants the queen had brought with her, as they leapt up from the side of the balcony, into the ambush Chi made for him.

Hunson's head split in half and his true bulbous one took its place, with the numerous black arms coming out from under his chin to ensnare the ninjas. This did not last long as Chi's eyes lit up and blasted beams of power from them, severing the appendages and freeing her forces.

Though the arms grew back quickly, Hunson knew he was at a disadvantage. He may be more flexible than anyone in the room other than the shapeshifting Chi, but the ninjas were significantly faster, leaping and ducking around the room and knocking him into each other's blows. Twice he nearly found himself impaled on the Shogunness's demonic blade. And with the size of the room and limited access to souls, he could not grow to his full stature and simply overwhelm his attackers.

Still, he wasn't one of the Big Five lords for nothing. Despite his disadvantage he was able to press heavily against the ninjas, occasionally able to get his hands on one or two of them and beat them into submission, hitting them point blank with the power the erupted from his hands. Tough as they were, they were nowhere near his level.

As soon as Hunson finished dispatching with another of the guards, Chi came at him again with the sword. This time Hunson caught the blade between his hands and kicked her hard in the stomach, sending her flying back across the room, though her grip on the sword's hilt was strong enough so that it flew back with her. Something Hunson couldn't help but notice.

" **Why would you bring that with you to fight me?"** Hunson asked curiously as the shadow of his massive head loomed over her. **"I mean, I can understand it poetically, as that is the sword that ended your father's life. But the reason it was able to kill him is because Mandy was the one wielding it and even the Shogun of Sorrows' evil was nowhere near hers. Forgetting for moment that I'm chaotic evil (one of the best kinds of evil, if I do say so myself), you want to kill me because of what I did to your husband and daughter. By the look of things, you're just a woman who wants to protect her family. Now what's more noble and less evil than that?"**

Chi stared at him determinedly before taking in a deep sharp breath. She then let it loose as one massive fireball. Hunson's main arms moved and blocked the attack from hitting the rest of him. He knew another sword strike was coming and readied himself to catch it again, this time to take it from her.

And he was correct. From out of the flames came the attack

But instead of a flash of red, it was a flash of silver.

Hunson found his hand cut through and then a large gash across his chest.

It hurt.

It REALLY hurt.

Hunson's scream of pain was interrupted as Chi grabbed him by the face and scraped him against the wall, before throwing him hard into the other side of the room.

As the dazed Hunson took a moment to recover, he heard Chi say "You're right, Abadeer. What is more noble than that?"

Getting back to his feet, Hunson could see the change in the Shoguness. The red evil that once infected the blade had left it, spreading instead to Chi's left arm, where it seemed to be contained. The arm was slightly larger than the other, looking scaly and powerful, with a deep dark red color and massive claws. That was likely the hand that manhandled him a second ago. And yet, even with this transformation, it was the other hand that he knew to fear. The one that held the sword, now restored to its former glory. The slayer of evil.

There was little time to be impressed, as Chi leapt into attack. Her essence fueled arm and the sword made a surprisingly effective fighting style, the arm hitting him hard as Hunson did his best to avoid the quick blade, likely feeding off the great rage the former brat of Aku City was known to have.

The battle slowly started to turn in Chi's favor as she powered on against the Nightosphere lord. The damage inflicted on him was healing, but slowly, as new wounds from the sword kept appearing on his body.

Finally when the opportunity presented itself amidst Chi's barrage, Hunson lined up as many tentacle hands as he could to launch a massive blast against her. Chi blocked the attack with her sword, through the force did push her a bit. Using this reprieve to his advantage, Hunson opened his sideways mouth wide, creating the soul stealing vortex of wind.

As a creature of power and darkness like her father, Chi was able to protect her soul well enough through sheer force of will to keep it from being stolen. Her servants however were not as lucky, as the five souls of the scattered fallen ninja entered the maw of the Nightosphere lord.

Upon taking them in, Hunson's wounds instantly healed and he grew slightly bigger, his power increasing with it. Smiling as he returned to 100% and beyond, this time it was Hunson's turn to launch the attack.

The fight went on in fairly close-quarters, as that was where both would have their own advantages. Hunson would sacrifice some of his lesser appendages to Chi's sword. It hurt, yes, but he could handle it, especially when it could set her up to be struck by his remaining tentacles and even a blast of fire or two. He even was able to use his soul stealing technique to occasional knock her off balance, as she needed to focus to protect her soul from him.

Chi took quite a few hits, but she kept at him, staying in close and within range of her blade. Any damage to her red arm healed instantly due to the Devil's Essence, but it was clear she was not letting it spread to the rest of her injured body, not wanting to lose herself in her sin and leave herself potentially vulnerable.

The clash went on for several minutes, the sound of sword swings, energy blasts, and the hammering of flesh echoing around the balcony. Chi blocked a karate chop from Hunson with her sword and her eyes lit up, blazing her laser eye beams across his chest. Hunson winced at the attack, but didn't think much of it. Not until it occurred to him that that attack should not have hurt him as much as it did.

As he threw himself forward to hit her, Chi easily dodged around his arm and got in close. Easily enough that Hunson realized he was slower now than he had been at the start of the exchange. A weakness Chi was going to fully exploit.

She slashed her sword multiple time far faster than he could see, leaving numerous "X" markings all across his head and chest. The Nightosphere lord howled in pain as black demon blood sprayed from his open wounds and splashed across the floor. It was so bad than he fell to his knees.

" _Why? Why am I suddenly getting weaker?"_ Hunson thought through his dazed mind. And then he realized what was the cause.

He fired a long arcing blast around the room, just to get Chi to fall back for a second and allow him time to see. Twisting his head to the proper angle, Hunson bent over and looked into his soul sack. Within it were a number of souls he'd collected, including those of Chi's red clad servants. To any observer, it would appear that they were simply mediating. But Hunson could feel it. They were doing something to him. Weakening him.

Chi smirked at Hunson's realization. "You may have been the first soul-stealer, Abadeer, but you were hardly the last." She explained as she stared him down. "Long ago, there was a man who served my father known as Demongo. He had abilities very similar to yours, at least in regards to taking souls in. He gave nothing less than his total and complete loyalty to my father. But my father was no fool. He would not name anyone general of his armies without some way of countering their abilities, should they turn traitor. Those five men you've ingested? They were trained by my father and Demongo himself for one sole purpose: to battle those who steal souls."

Chi walked up to Hunson, putting her sword at his throat (or whatever his biology has in place of one). "They're in a very special type of battle meditation, one that suppresses their own power and that of those around them. Great for suspending all those that Demongo would send out to fight his battles and great for giving you little energy to feed on."

Hunson looked up at her and at the blade at his throat.

"You've lost, Abadeer."

The demon stayed in stunned silence for several long seconds, and then he started to laugh.

Chi did her best not to react to it, but the suddenness of it from an opponent she thought she had at her mercy, it struck a bit of fear at her core and caused a bead of sweat to go down her face.

" **Oh…don't worry, Chi."** Hunson said after he calmed his giggling a little bit. **"I am laughing at your plan, but not in the way you think."** Chi's sword pressed in a little deeper at his side, but stayed steady. **"It's a good plan, honestly. I'm pretty well pinned. It's just…you don't think I see it, do you?"** He chuckled. **"The surprise twist with the sword so that it does slay evil, not good? The henchmen made to combat a soul eating monster? This plan wasn't originally meant for me, was it? It was meant for Junior!"**

Chi glared hard at the demon, but noticeably didn't deny anything.

" **Ah, don't feel bad about it, Chi. Heck, with what you've managed to do to me with it, I'd say you have a pretty good chance of taking him out."** He praised her. **"In fact, I'd say you have a significantly better chance of taking him out than you do taking me out. Know why?"**

Hunson paused for a moment for dramatic effect, then leapt right at her. The sword cut through his side as he did, but that didn't seem to slow him down.

Hunson pinned her to the ground, slamming her arms to the floor hard enough to knock the sword away from her hand and slide it across the room. Before she had a chance to shapeshift out of his grip, Hunson opened his mouth and his whirlwind of soul-sucking began.

" **Unlike your husband, I'm not Death. I'm Deathless!"** He yelled as sucked. **"Slice me up, overfeed me, toss me in a vault of bananas for a hundred years. It doesn't matter. Unlike him, I can't be killed. I have no life to be taken!"**

This close to the source, Chi struggled to keep her soul. It took every last ounce of her strength to barely hold on. Through the glimpses she could manage to take through her pain and the incredible winds, Chi could see her guards fairing far worse. Each of them held their hands near their throats, as if to free themselves from some invisible enemy strangling them from within their pods. This was Hunson's way of destroying them, now that he knew what they were doing to him. The moment they were gone, Hunson would regain his strength and her chances of survival would drop.

It was now or never.

Chi opened her own mouth wide and from it a beam of several white "O's" shot out. Impressively, Hunson managed to shift his entire bulbous head to the side just enough to avoid the beam without ending his suck.

Hunson smiled, his victory all but assured.

That is, until he heard the small boom from behind him.

Turning his head at the noise, behind him was a massive black and white spiraling portal, whose winds were now attempting to drag him in.

" **What-! What is that?!"** Hunson exclaimed in surprise.

Her enemy momentarily distracted, Chi stretched her arm far enough out to latch onto a wall. She then bent her legs up by enough and slammed her feet into him, kicking him off her.

Just a hairsbreadth away from the portal, Hunson's many arms grabbed at the walls, the floors, and whatever else they could reach to keep him from being sucked in.

"You're right, Hunson. The sword and the guards? Those were for Junior." Chi said as her free arm reached for the sword, her eyes never leaving the demon as she spoke. "This? This is for you."

Stretching out the arm holding the blade, Chi cut through one of Hunson's tectacles. Another quickly regrew in its place, but the winds of the portal were too much and pulled the appendage back, too much force working against it for it to reach back out and act as a tether again.

"I know I can't kill you, Abadeer." She yelled over the winds as she cut another tentacle, the results the same as the first. "But I can send you far enough into the future to get you out of our hair until Junior and I figure out what we can do with you. I just had to make sure I softened you up enough first."

Hunson could feel the pull the portal had on him, almost stretching him back to bring him in. He wasn't strong enough yet to effectively fight against it. Not with Chi's men still fighting him from within. And with each limb Chi severed, the closer he got to falling through.

He couldn't see any way out.

It was over.

"Lord Abadeer! What's going on in here?!" Exclaimed one of the camo jacketed Care Bears as he ran into the room, the only one to have heard the commotion.

Chi and Hunson stared blankly at the bear for a solid minute.

". . . FFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-!"

" _And there's my door!"_

Freeing the closest appendage he could, Hunson grabbed the bear and before the soldier knew what was happening, Hunson threw him behind him.

The Care Bear fell deep into the portal and it closed up behind him.

Hunson breathed a sigh of relief as his tentacles released their grips around the room. **"So…since you didn't just start off with that, and since I've only ever heard of Aku doing it once, I'm guessing that was your one time you could open that portal. Am I right?"** He asked.

Chi just sat in defeated shock.

" **I thought so."** Power lit up in Hunson's many hands and he fired them all at once on Chi.

The resulting explosion took out a good chunk of the balcony, wall and floor included. Hunson checked the smolders for any living remains. He found none. But when the smoke cleared a moment later, he saw why.

Just past where the blast had struck, the black wings of the hooded Reaper flapped, their owner carrying his very surprised wife in his arms.

"I've been getting way too much practice with this last-minute-rescue thing." Junior quipped.

 **Chapter end**

* * *

 **Author's notes:** So that was Chi vs. Hunson. I like the idea that Chi would be a quick learner when it comes to her powers, given that even Demongo had to comment on how quickly she was mastering shapeshifting. So given enough time to mature Chi could become quite formidable in combat. And I just thought that her learning to fight with Samurai Jack's katana (the weapon her father feared) and channeling the power that once belonged to Mimi (the girl she loved) would be poetic (or at least interesting).

And I'm guessing the portal to the future power is a one-time deal, given that Aku never used it again against Jack after the first time, which is why Chi had to wait for the perfect opportunity to use it.

So Junior has now come to the rescue for his wife and is going to face off against the man starting a war with him. What's going to happen next? I'd say you make the call, but I've already got the next chapter pretty much written. So all I can say for now is stay tuned, loyal readers! Thank you.

 **QTP:** What's Junior going to think of his wife running off to fight Hunson? Better yet, what's he going to think of the fact that she had a plan designed to kill him? What's Junior going to do now that he's confronted Hunson yet again? Why hasn't Hunson told Marceline about what's been happening in the Underworld?


	30. An Endless Cycle of Endings

**Part 30: An Endless Cycle of Endings**

 **nightmaster000:** Glad you liked it. To answer your question, given that I'm trying to wrap the story up, it might have to be a tie-in story that I'll write later on. I do want to do it and I have a fairly good idea of how, given that the main idea for the Junior and Chi romance is that they've both lost the love of their lives and are finding comfort in the arms of the one other person they know that can understand that. Though the reason I did that three year time skip was because I wasn't entirely confident in my ability to write them falling in love beyond what was shown in The Fight chapters.

If nothing else, I can say that I'm definitely going to write a tie-in story at some point to show what happens to Junior and Chi some time after this story is finished, which you'll see why I want to do that when I finally get to the final chapter.

 **Emeraldalex123:** Well, let's just say Hunson has his reasons. And I'm glad people seem to like Chi's fighting style, I was worried it would be too corny when I started writing it.

 **CuteVyper:** I like your answers, though I will give an actual reason for why Hunson didn't tell Marceline in a later chapter. It won't excuse all the things he's done but in all fairness, it is the Underworld, so you don't exactly need justification if you have enough power.

To answer your question, just from what I've seen of Adventure Time, most of Hunson's powers come from the Nightosphere amulet, except for his Deathless nature. Marceline gained the same abilities as her father when she wore the Amulet in Daddy's little Monster and lost them when it was removed. Also, Marceline is a vampire and her father is not, so she has some abilities that he does not, abilities which she has passed on to Jacob. And with HIM being Jacob's father, Jacob has some abilities that his mother does not.

 **Rising Reaper:** Glad you liked it. Just from how I've written her so far, Chi isn't the type to go after someone's kid to hurt her enemy. Or at least she hasn't been pushed far enough to do so yet. And Hunson wouldn't involve him because he was sure he could beat Chi on his own.

 **ReadLoverNumber1:** Thank you.

 **AMTT94:** Even if you had to translate, I do still appreciate the effort and I'm glad you like it. To answer your question about Junior and Chi, and this is something I've said to nightmaster000, I might do a tie-in story to show Junior and Chi falling in love, I just need to make sure I know what I'm doing first. I don't think I'll write a story or flashback about MJ's childhood, but it's not a bad idea, so I'll have to think more on it.

If I'm understanding you correctly (and please correct me if I'm mistaken) and you're asking about bring back to ghosts of the people Junior has killed, it's not a bad idea, it's just that most of the people Junior has killed he's also eaten or gave to Mr. Popo. The only person he's killed and not had eaten was Mandy and he's keeping a close eye on her soul.

 **Guest:** Thank you.

* * *

 **Chapter start:**

"G-Grim?" Chi gasped, her exhausted body still being held in his arms as Junior landed and his wings receded back within himself.

"Considering the last time you snuck into another realm with the intent to kick someone's ass was went you broke into the castle to save Mimi, you'd think you would have learned your lesson, Chi." Junior commented.

"Actually, the last time was when I burst into your office after finding out you had her reincarnated." She corrected.

"And now this time because of our kid." Junior added. "You seem to get worked up when it involves people named Mimi."

"Do you blame me?" She smiled weakly.

Junior gave a soft smile back. The damage to the room and Hunson, as well as her own body, showed clearly how hard she'd fought. "Nah. Wouldn't be you if you didn't."

Junior let her down and back onto her feet. Hunson had not acted against either of the two during their exchange, but for good reason. As could be seen from his soul sack, the five servants that once sat within him were now gone. Whether they'd been digested, disintegrated, or some other third fate, it was hard to say. But all that mattered was that they were no longer holding the ruler back and Hunson slowly returned to full strength.

"Shit." Chi cursed, their final advantage over him now gone.

Junior studied his wife and Hunson as he looked back and forth between them. "Guessing those five served a purpose or you wouldn't be ticked off that they're not being eaten anymore." Junior said.

" **Oh they did."** Hunson smirked. **"Honestly, long term-wise, if you knew what it was you'd probably be pretty glad they're gone."**

Chi opened her mouth to say something but Junior held out his arm to stop her.

"Chi, go back home. I'll take care of things here." He said simply.

Naturally she refused. "No way, Grim." She declared, not taking her eyes off Hunson. "There's no way that I'm going to leave you all alone to be taken apart by-"

"Do you trust me?" He interrupted, noticeably looking only at her and turning his back to Hunson. Chi was slightly stunned by his question.

" **Clearly not."** Hunson interjected.

"Shut up." Junior shot at him before turning back to Chi. "Chi…do you trust me?"

Chi was silent for a moment. "…Whatever you're about to do next…are you doing it to protect our daughter?"

"Yes." Junior stated firmly.

"…Then I trust you enough. Just like always."

Junior nodded and waved his scythe, opening up a portal out of the realm. Chi put her arms around him gently and gave him a deep long kiss.

"You make sure you come back. Understand?" She said when the kiss ended.

"I will." Junior assured her.

Chi gave him one more kiss before leaving through the portal, taking one last moment to look back at her husband before it closed.

After the portal closed the room filled with silence until Hunson gave an awkward cough.

" **Not to ruin the moment or anything, but the tagline of my realm is "No one leaves the Nightosphere." I'm kind of taking issue with how you just keep casually opening portals in and out of here. I'm just saying that I feel a little more respect could be given. Breaking the one rule a place has feels a little personal."**

Junior didn't react to the ruler's attempts to rile him up. Nor did he react went the two fairy warriors, the Pokemon, and the four remaining Care Bear soldiers came busting into the room, all having been alerted to the fight just minutes ago.

As the soldiers all took aim at the Reaper, Junior just calmly turned to face Hunson, ignoring them.

"Hunson. I want you to follow me somewhere." He stated evenly.

Hunson raised an eyebrow at the statement. **"Why would I do that?"** He asked.

"Because the place I want you to follow me to is in your realm." Junior explained.

Hunson blinked at the Reaper's words. But then gave a small smile. As his body started to shrink back down, his bulbous head receded back within his torso and the two halves of his normal head snapped back together, taking its place.

"You know, the funny thing is…I know you're playing me…but I'm just too curious." Hunson smiled honestly. "Lead the way, Reaper."

Junior nodded and started to walk. All the soldiers stammered in nervous confusion.

"S-sir? Are you sure that's a good idea?" One of the fairies asked.

"Oh, come on, you'll be fine." Hunson shrugged as he followed Junior. "Worst case scenario, he kills and eats you all. But hey, I'm sure your bosses all probably said the same thing about me when they sent you here."

All the soldiers gave an audible simultaneous gulp. And unfortunately for them, they all still had a job to do and proceeded to follow closely behind Hunson.

* * *

Junior led the way across the fiery landscape. The unusually diverse group of course caught the attention of many Nightosphere inhabitants, but all stayed clear from them. It had only been recently that Hunson had released them all from his soul sack and they felt no need to risk being caught in another tug-of-war battle between their ruler and a Demon Reaper.

As they went on Hunson observed something strange about the Reaper, that under his robe some parts of him were more heavily Nergalized than others. At first he thought Junior was conserving his strength and building up power in key parts of the body, but then he noticed Junior's occasional limp. The timing was too random for Junior to be faking it and the way he moved his scythe to balance himself showed he wasn't always sure when it was going to happen. That's when Hunson realized that the Nergalized parts of Junior's body were to help lessen his pain. He was clearly still very injured from his battle with the Black Demon Reaper and he was using his powers to force himself to keep moving. Hunson had to admit, the Reaper's tenacity was certainly something to be respected.

That being said…

"So, Junior, out of curiosity...how does it feel knowing your wife has a plan solely dedicated to killing you?" He asked.

"Appropriate." Junior said without even bothering to look back.

"Really?" Hunson asked, curiosity peaked.

"I'm not an idiot, Hunson. I have no doubts that Chi loves me and that I love her, but that doesn't mean we haven't had our problems over the years." Junior stated. "Heck, the entire reason we got married is because I basically forced her to. I've keep plenty of secrets from her and she knows better than anyone the things I'm capable of when I don't hold myself back. I'm not going to condemn her for finding a way to protect herself from me if she ever needs to."

"How very mature of you." Hunson commented. "I suppose you wouldn't be the first Underworld couple to come to blows or turn on each other. Though I am curious…you're very understanding of Chi having a plan to get rid of you... Is that because you've already justified this kind of thing to yourself? Do you have plan to kill her?"

"No." Junior said.

"Now why didn't I quite believe that?" Hunson smirked.

"Why do you think I give a damn what you believe?" Junior retorted.

Hunson shrugged playfully. "Fair enough. Just figured that you had so much stuff laid out to take down your daughter that your wife wouldn't be too far outside the realm of possibility." Hunson commented. "Though I suppose at the moment you don't need to concern yourself. Chi used up everything she was going to throw at you against me. Same trick never works twice, so if she wants to have a chance of taking you down, she'll have to come up with a new plan. And that takes time."

"I suppose you haven't had to worry about your own wife plotting against you for quite a few years now, have you Hunson?" Junior commented sharply.

Hunson was struck speechless by his remark and fell silent. As they continued their walk, Junior was tempted to look back to see Hunson's face, as for a brief moment there, Junior could have sworn he'd felt a flicker of deep, raw rage. Something he was certainly not used to feeling from the Nightosphere lord.

The group walked on in silence until finally they arrived at their destination, a cellar door in the middle of the city.

Hunson was actually a little surprised. "You brought us here?" He asked, being one of the only two people in the group who knew what was down there.

"Something you don't want people to see, Hunson?" Junior asked.

"No, I'm just thinking that you'll have more to answer for about this than I will." Hunson pointed out.

Junior smirked and opened the doors, leading the way down the steps with the group following him.

The stairs led down into a deep dark dungeon. Nothing could be seen until Hunson voluntarily lit the torches around the room, revealing the giant stockpiles of bananas.

"Good way to keep people out." Hunson explained over his shoulder to the soldiers.

They kept walking until they reached the end of the dungeon, where they found what Junior had been leading them to.

Sitting between two piles of bananas was a large black and green cylindrical device, about up to Junior's torso in height. It was covered with glowing tubes running around it the body and into a light at the center. It also had a sharp yellow flower insignia stamped onto it: the symbol of Mandy.

All the soldiers nearly fell over at the sight of it. "T-that's…! That's an E-Bomb!"

"Yep." Junior said simply as he calmly approached the device.

All the soldiers raised their weapons at the Reaper. "Step away from the device!" They warned, ready to fire at a moment's notice.

In direct contrast to the fearful and twitching guards, Hunson was completely calm and continued to speak to Junior in his normal friendly (yet unnerving) manner. "Kind of surprised you found this thing so easily." He said.

Junior reached into his robe. The soldiers were tempted to fire, in case he was about to pull out a weapon, but they hesitated. He was standing too close to the bomb that they'd risk hitting it. Nothing about the bomb other than who made it and what it did to people was known, including what could set it off. With their souls on the line, they weren't going to take the chance.

From out of his robe Junior pulled a small PDA like device. "Had the boys in the castle's lab whip this up for me a while back." He explained. "The E-Bombs give off a unique energy signature, one that this baby can track."

"Course, in order to track the energy signature, you have to actually know what the energy signature is first." Hunson pointed out. "Like you said, it's unique. So the only thing that could give you the energy signature of an E-Bomb is another E-Bomb."

"Which thankfully I have two of." Junior said simply.

The soldiers blinked at this admission. "You told the council you had no idea where the remaining bombs were!" One of the Care Bear soldiers yelled.

"And that was the truth." Junior said. "All I knew at that point was that my mother made four bombs total. One for each of the other Big Five realms. Her use of the one in the Land of Tainted Souls is well known and long gone. That left just three more: the one in the Ghost Zone, the one in the City of Aku, and this one right here."

"So that's why you took over the other two realms!" One of the fairy warriors exclaimed. "To get your hands on them!"

"I can have more than one reason for doing something."

All the soldiers were well prepared to blast him now. "Lord Death, you shall be brought before the council and judged for your actions!"

Adding to their fear, Junior just ignored them, like all their power meant nothing to him. "Alright, Hunson, now that I've brought you here, would you extend the courtesy of satisfying my curiosity?" Junior asked.

"Shoot." Hunson said politely.

"You're trying to go to war with me. That much is clear. You even joined up with an old family enemy of mine, one whom, might I add, was basically wasting away because of a bomb like this. Now you've had a good fourteen uninterrupted years with this thing down here. Fourteen years during which I couldn't send anyone down here to search for it or I'd risk tipping you off that it was here. I was only able to find it now because I came down here myself. And since you're not at all surprised to see a soul destroying bomb in your basement, I'm guessing that sometime during those fourteen years you found this thing.

"Now given what the bomb did to Kare, he definitely would have encouraged you to use it if he knew you had it. But look where we are. This isn't some high-tech lab dedicated to unlocking the bombs secrets and figuring out how to use it for yourself. This is a forgotten dungeon filled with what demons from your realm basically crap out. You didn't even hide it in a place you could frame someone or in a realm you'd love to see accidentally destroyed. I couldn't wrap my head around it when I found this place. But then it hit me. You're not trying to destroy me, are you? That's not the end goal, is it? Just the war. Now why is that?"

Hunson smiled proudly, the weight of his presence almost filling the room. "Have you ever heard those tales that the followers of the Greek pantheon pass around? How in the beginning there was chaos, then from out of it comes Erebus, Death, and so on?"

"Of course." Junior nodded.

"Now, there's one part about this saying that I feel people have a misconception of." Hunson went on. "When people think "In the beginning…" they think it's referring to the beginning of everything, when in reality it's just referring to the beginning of their everything. The beginning of their universe. It's inconceivable to some people that anything could have before them."

"Like the world you come from." Junior said, catching on to what he was saying.

"And the world my father came from before that one and the one his father came from before that one. And so on." Hunson added. "Whenever the true beginning of everything was it came long before my time."

The soldiers looked back and forth between the two Underworld lords, no longer sure of who to be on guard against.

"All that chaos at the beginning of the universe? That's the chaos that my family causes at the end of the previous universe. Enough chaos to end that universe and eventually kick start the next." He chuckled. "You know the saying about a thousand monkeys writing Shakespeare? It's kind of like that. Chaos being the big cosmic typewriter hitting every key until eventually, out pops existence."

Things started to fall into place in Junior's head. "So that's why you're trying to start a war with me. You're thinking a clash between the two of us will be enough to plunge the realms into enough chaos to end existence as we know it."

"You catch on quick." Hunson praised. "See, the problem has always been finding the right trigger. Existence is larger than really anyone can comprehend. Set fire to five solar systems and the rest won't even notice. You want to drag all of existence into that fire, you have to find the common link that it all shares.

"Kare thought he was the ideal candidate, believing that all of existence shared the common ground of sin. Bill had similar beliefs about himself, believing that all existence shared thought and insanity."

"And you're going after me because what all existence truly has in common is Death." Junior guessed.

"Where there's life there's death, and where there is life there is the potential for chaos." Hunson summarized.

"Explains why you don't want to use the bomb. A weapon that leaves behind nothing and creates stillness? That's got to be the worst thing in the world for someone who thrives on chaos." Junior commented, Hunson nodding his head. "Still doesn't explain one thing. Why me? Why not my father, or better yet, why not my mother while she had control over him?"

"Quite a few reasons for that." Hunson said, thinking back. "I don't need to tell you all of them, but I suppose the biggest is Marceline simply wasn't interested in carrying on the family business. When the ending chaos comes I'll fade back into it, like all my family before me. But before I do that I have to make sure that there's someone after me to create chaos in the next universe and Marceline…..well…my father never had this sort of problem with me and I didn't know how to deal with it. I tried everything I could to get her to warm up to the idea; giving her gifts, giving her space, overfilling her essence with chaotic evil and turning her loose on her friends, but none of it budged her." Huson sighed heavily, but there was a small smile of pride on his face as he spoke about her. "In the end I decided to stop trying to force her to be who I wanted her to be and respect her wishes, postponing the end of your existence until I could think of something else."

"That something else coming in the form of a deal with Kare." Junior commented.

Hunson's smiling face broke for a second, a look of guilt and regret filling his features. "That deal… That deal didn't go quite as planned. Honestly I guess I shouldn't have expected any less from HIM." He was quiet for a moment before trying to pull himself back together. "But on the positive side, I am the only member of my family who has ever been around long enough to meet my grandchild! When I fade away, Marceline and Jacob will continue on into the next universe and she actually might get to meet her on grandkid. This could be the start of a whole new dynamic for my family."

"You must be very proud." Junior said tonelessly.

"Very much so." Hunson said sincerely, not caring about the tone. "But of course, first things first, have to actually create the chaos to get this ball rolling."

"And what makes you think I'll actually go along with this little plan of yours?" Junior asked.

"Because of another reason I'm picking this fight with you and not someone else." Hunson smirked. "In all my years I don't think I've ever seen anyone as unnaturally talented at causing trouble and destruction as you, Junior. Everyone you've ever loved has died, some of whom you killed yourself. You put three realms under your thumb because you felt you needed to, one of which you personally slaughtered the inhabitants of first. You've got everyone on the council and all the realms backing them so terrified that they went to me, the chaotically evil demon, for help. You've created such a fragile house of cards situation (or maybe Jenga tower is more appropriate, since it's louder when it falls) that really if anything big happens, everything is going to hit the fan. You can go and tell the council about my plan and my goal. They might even believe you. But then they'll start wondering how much I've played them before this and if they're still being played. They'll fight me, they'll fight you, and they'll even start fighting each other. Directly or indirectly, chaos happens. That's all I need and that's what you're good at creating, intentionally or otherwise."

Half the soldiers now pointed their weapons at Hunson while the other kept them on Junior. After Hunson's speech no one knew who to truly call their enemy. The soldiers would even keep switching between targets, their fear making them indecisive and seconds away from opening fire on anything.

"Funny thing is, Hunson…" Junior talked calmly, causing everyone to sharply turn their weapons back on him. "…if you had tried to pull this universe ender of yours right after I killed my mother, I might have gone along with it. I was in a really bad place back then and wouldn't have given two craps about my own life, let alone anyone else's. But right now…other than the family I've made, that I love, and want to keep existence around for…do you know what really makes this easy decision for me?"

"What?" Hunson asked.

Junior held up the energy tracker. "This thing doubles as a trigger."

Hunson looked to the device in the Reaper's hand and then to the E-Bomb sitting right behind him. "…Huh."

Junior hit the button and before anyone could act, the room was filled with burning green light.

* * *

Hunson woke up on the hard ground. The bomb had either blown the room off the dungeon or had sent him flying out of it. Either way had him laying beneath an open Nightosphere sky. But instead of its normal red, it was now a pale grey, with falling specks of white and green. Not snow. Ash.

Hunson got to his feet, his back a little stiff. Looking around, he saw that the buildings of the Nightosphere were now blackened ruins. The flames of ocean of fire were extinguished, now replaced by a wide open hole, slowly filling with ash.

Hunson didn't even have to look around to know what happened to the people of his realm. He could feel it within his own soul sack.

All the souls of the realm were gone. Forever.

It was just him.

And one other…

Hunson turned to the noise of shifting ash and saw the Grim Reaper slowly making his way towards him, yet again using his scythe as a walking stick.

Hunson could see the final echoes of the souls that clung to Junior dissipate before him. Unlike Hunson, Junior did have a soul, one that could have easily been destroyed by the bomb if he hadn't been quick enough. To save his own soul, the Demon Reaper brought out every last soul he had left within his stomach and used them to shield himself, something his Nergaling had voluntarily done years ago to save him and not unlike what HIM forced Manny and Daniela to do for him.

As the last soul that protected him faded, Junior turned his scythe towards Hunson and said "No more political manipulations. No more guards. No more souls to feed off of.

"Right now…it's just you and me."

 **Chapter End**

* * *

Author's notes: Sorry it took so long to upload this chapter, I've had a lot of stuff to do over the past week (including seeing Kung Fu Panda 3).

So anyway, Junior just destroyed the Nightosphere with the same weapon that destroyed his sister. He and Hunson are the only ones left standing because of what they are. And now it's time for the final showdown between Reaper and Abadeer.

You may or may not be disappointed.

Also, in case I really suck at explaining things in story, my theory (for this story anyway) is that Hunson is from a species of demons whose sole purpose is to end the universe by creating as much chaos as they can and thus start up a new one (it's kind of like the Big Crunch theory in physics). The parent passes on this duty to their child at the end of their universe and the parent is consumed by the chaos they've created. But Hunson has waited longer that any of his kind to do this (for some reason) and thus is the first of his kind to have a grandchild.

QTP: What did Hunson mean when he said his deal with HIM didn't go quite as planned? Does Junior have a plan to kill Chi? Was Junior right to keep his knowledge of the E-Bombs a secret from the council? Better yet was he right in destroying the Nightosphere? What's going to happen now because of what Junior has done?


	31. Eye for an Eye

**Part 31: Eye for an Eye**

 **Rioludoodle:** Thank you.

 **Emeraldalex123:** Puns are ok. To answer your question about the souls, yeah, they're pretty much gone, which means Minnie is gone, the only part left of her residing in her niece's mind, which is something Junior will be dealing with in an upcoming chapter later down the line.

 **CuteVyper:** I do like reading your posts. Though just to give my two cents, I wouldn't think (in the actual show anyway) that Hunson would have had anything to do with the Mushroom War, as mutagenic bombs and nuclear warfare don't seem like his thing (though, admittedly, we've yet to see what he thinks of the Lich). Now for your answers:

No, HIM completely lived up to his end of the deal by giving Hunson an heir/grandson. Though keep in mind HIM is a devil, one who specializes in either turning the deals he makes completely in his favor or to the suffering of the one he's making the deal with. So finding some way of screwing over Hunson or at least making him regret ever making the deal is something Kare would certainly do.

Oh do I have a final chapter for you (when I get around to writing it, of course).

You know, now that you mention it, I think Junior and Chi are the youngest lords on the council. With the exception of maybe Ma-Ti and Doug, all the other lords are well over a thousand years old, at the least.

Hurt my kid and beat on my wife, I will bomb the crap out of your home. You're right about it being an advantage and disadvantage.

Junior will be going to the council at some point, but not for help.

 **TexasGunKing:** No, not yet. Still a few more left. Believe me, I don't want this story to drag on forever, so we're entering final countdown territory here. All say in the chapter right before it when the final chapter is coming.

 **Hedstrom:** To answer your question, yes, Hunson is capable of eating the soul of Mandy if he ever finds out about it. The problem he'd face however would be something similar to when the Brain-Eating Meteor ate Mandy's brain in the TV show. He eats her and she'll take control of him, which is why Junior did not eat her soul after he killed her.

 **ReadLoverNumber1:** Thank you. I really hope you're not about to be disappointed.

 **Guest:** Thank you.

 **nightmaster000:** Always good to hear from you and I'm glad you liked Hunson's reasonings. Adding something to a character's backstory that was not in the original source seems like something that could easily backfire, so I'm glad that it's going over well.

* * *

 **Chapter start**

Before Hunson could even react to his declaration Junior slashed him across the chest with the scythe. The wound it left hurt badly and that pain wasn't going away anytime soon. Though Hunson himself had no soul and thus the bomb left him relatively unharmed, his entire stockpile of souls had been completely depleted and he was left nowhere near the height of his powers. This was of course what Junior had been counting on, exploiting this weakness to its fullest, staying completely on the attack. He slashed and hacked at every part of the Nightosphere lord he could reach. It was only through sheer luck and Junior's own injuries slowing him down that Hunson was able to avoid getting any of his limbs torn off.

As his body filled with scars, Hunson knew he was in trouble. He was losing too much blood and he'd yet to land a single hit on the Reaper. If this kept on much longer Hunson wouldn't even be able to keep standing, let alone keep fighting.

Finally Hunson got lucky and stuck a blow to Junior's bicep, the one of the arm holding the scythe. It wasn't a very powerful blow, but it didn't need to be. Junior's weakened state couldn't handle the attack and he instantly was forced to drop the scythe.

Junior's other arm swooped down low, making Hunson think he was going in for an uppercut. But Junior was going down far too low for that sort of move to be effective. It was only too late that he realized what the Reaper was really doing, as Junior scooped up in hand a load of ash from the ground and sharply threw it into the demon's eyes, blinding him.

Hunson instantly backed from the Reaper, frantically rubbing the substance from his burning eyes.

And then Junior punched him.

And the he punched him again.

And again.

And again.

The blows continued on, as Junior viciously beat the demon with all his remaining strength. Even as Hunson fell to the ground, Junior didn't let up, repeatedly smashing the ruler's head against the floor with his fists.

The assault continued on uninterrupted for a solid ten minutes until Junior finally relented. As he stood back up over the swollen and battered blue man, Junior breathed hard from exhaustion and said "…Had…enough?"

A quick surprise bolt from Hunson's hand to the Reaper's chest silenced him and knocked him to the ground.

Neither ruler got back up for several minutes, both in far too terrible of shape to attempt such a thing.

But eventually one did rise back up, despite their body's pain filled protests. And the one it was, was Hunson.

"…Got to hand it to you, Junior…" Hunson grunted with a smile, holding his bleeding side. "I didn't think it was possible for a deathless being to fear Death…but you pulled it off quite well." Junior didn't respond, but Hunson knew he was still alive. He could see him still wincing from his injuries. "…I knew you weren't going to kill me. You can't kill me. But I've never been pushed like this before, Junior. Never been in this bad of shape before either. …If I had a nose I'm pretty sure it'd actually be broken right now. …Kudos.

"But I have to say, if the end result of your big plan was just to beat me up and destroy the Nightosphere, then I'm very disappointed in you." Hunson said as he limped over to Junior. "Don't get me wrong, I'm very angry that you destroyed the Nightosphere. This place was my life's work after all. A nice little focal point of chaos that could spread out to the rest of existence given enough conflict. …But, like you proved with the Land of Tainted Souls, you can rebuild or relocate any Hellscape if you know the right people."

Hunson spotted the scythe laying in the ash and was tempted to pick it up, but decided against it. It was far enough away that Junior couldn't reach it and there was no need to risk falling into any traps set to keep anyone other than the Grim Reaper from using the weapon, not while he was still healing and certainly not when he had the upper hand.

"Was this going to be some big last stand for you?" Hunson asked as he stood over the Reaper. "You figure that a war of chaos can't happen if you're not there to take part in it?"

Still Junior said nothing back. He just laid still in the ash. Hunson became a little worried and quickly looked around himself, think that maybe Junior was trying to lull him into another ambush. But the once fiery realm was completely still, no movement or sound whatsoever coming from around them.

"There was a time where that might have been true…" Hunson went on, cautiously turning back to Junior. "But that was before it turned out you had a daughter who was possibly more powerful than you. She might not have as much of a greatly tragic life as you do, but she does lack your control and restraint, so she has that going for her. And if she cares about you as much as my daughter cares about me, then she's sure to try and avenge you. Not to mention whatever her mother will try to do. It won't be as much of a party without you, Junior, but I can make do."

Hunson prepared himself to suck out Junior's soul, as the weakened Reaper was certainly not going to be able to fight it off this this time. He was just about to inhale when he heard a noise come from the Reaper's mouth. At first he thought it was a moan of pain. But he realized…it was a chuckle. Junior was laughing.

"You really haven't realized it yet." Junior said, with a small tired smile on his face.

"Realized what?" Hunson asked against his better judgement.

Junior took a moment before answering, mainly because he had to in order to build up enough energy to speak. "…As far as I can tell, there are only three beings in all existence who can survive a blast from my mother's bomb without protection." He said. "One is in the Land of Ooo… One is right here in front of me… And the third is NOT here wandering around, wondering what happened to his homeland while he was sleeping."

The realization of what Junior was getting at struck Hunson like a bolt of lightning.

The demon grabbed Junior by the collar and lifted him up to face him. **"WHAT DID YOU DO WITH MY GRANDSON?!"** He roared, his horned bulbous head bursting out his other skull in rage.

Junior just smiled, a sinister tone filling his words as he spoke. "You wanted to know what all this was about? It was to show you something."

" **Show me…?"** Hunson asked in confusion.

Junior nodded. "I made you weaker than you've been in a long time. And then, at the weakest I've ever been in my entire life, I hurt you. And by your own admission, I even scared you a little. Now imagine what a less injured version of me, with as many souls as I came in here with, could do to a little boy, who like you cannot die, but who is also nowhere near as powerful or as experienced as you. Now how well would he hold up if put through what I just did to you?"

Hunson's hands trembled and sweat. His rage was being replaced. Replaced by fear. **"You…! You can't… you would never-"**

"So go ahead." Junior cut him off. "Kill me or eat my soul, either is fine. It won't effect that other me. But take what could be my final words into great consideration, Hunson. If you don't make the right call, right now, then I personally guarantee you…you will never see your grandson ever again. …At least not in any condition you'll want to."

Hunson, more than anything else, wanted to believe that the Reaper was bluffing. But he could see it in his eyes, eyes that cut down to the core of him, right to where his soul would be if he had one. Junior wasn't bluffing.

Slowly, Hunson lowered Junior back onto his feet. From his neck, he pulled off the Nightosphere Amulet. With its removal his giant head and business suit were sucked into the purple gem, restoring the demon's normal head and stripping him down to his boxers and undershirt.

From his fingers he let the amulet slip and fall to the ground.

"Please…" Hunson begged, his dignity being the last thing on his mind. "Please don't hurt him."

Junior reached down and picked the amulet up by the chain. "…I accept your surrender."

* * *

 **Ghost Zone: Walker's prison (name kept for marketing purposes):**

Jacob was a smart enough kid. It didn't take him long to put together what his situation was when the Grim Reaper had suddenly snatched him away from the Nightosphere. He, like everyone else, heard about how Junior and his daughter attacked the Nightosphere unprovoked and assaulted his family. And given that Jacob had actually been there to see what really happened, he quickly put it together that his grandfather was lying to everyone. The fact that it was Bill Cipher, the same dream demon who worked with HIM and kidnapped MJ, who was spreading this "information" around made Hunson's deception all the clearer to him.

His situation wasn't as bad as his mind first feared it would be. He was just sitting in one of the prison's interrogation rooms, with Junior sitting on the other side of the table. He hadn't said a word to Jacob the entire time, however. He just laid back in his chair with his arms crossed and his eyes closed, as if he was waiting for something.

Though he had abducted him from his home, Jacob didn't get the feeling that Junior was going to hurt him. Still, he knew that at the moment his family was basically the Reaper's enemy and didn't want to risk invoking his famous wrath somehow. So he sat in silence with the Reaper and his thoughts.

After several minutes (or at least what felt like several minutes, as there was no clock in the room), Jacob finally spoke up. "…Mr. Reaper?"

"Hm?" Junior said, not bothering to open his eyes.

"Would it…would it be alright if I asked you something?"

"What?"

Jacob tried to find the words. "Do you…do you ever miss your mom?"

Junior opened his eyes. "Why do you ask?" He asked evenly.

The Reaper's words didn't sound angry, so as far as Jacob could tell he had not yet crossed a line. "Well…you're doing…this…because of my grandpa, right?"

"Mainly."

"And like…in the Underworld he is really well respected…but in Ooo everyone thinks of him as a monster. Even Finn and Jake get freaked out by him. And my mom…she loves him a lot and she always says that if following in his footsteps is really something that I want to do then she'll support it…but whenever she has the chance she keeps me out of the Nightosphere and in Ooo. Always from him. And the fact that he's tricking everyone into starting a war with you…it's pretty clear that my grandpa is not a very good man, and that whatever you'll do to him he probably has coming. …But still…he's my grandpa and….and I don't want him to get hurt."

Jacob trailed off and looked away from the Reaper, not sure if he could face him anymore.

Once he was certain that Jacob was finished, Junior said "Hunson is not Mandy." Causing the young demon vampire to look back up at him. "Would your grandfather ever do anything to hurt you or your mother?"

"No. Of course not."

"And the fact that you can say that without second-guessing should tell you everything you need to know." Junior said. "Hunson is evil. Chaotically so. It's what he is. That's why the mortal world fears him, that's why the Underworld respects him, and it's because you're his family that he loves you and has always made sure that chaotic evil has never hurt you. Your mother knows this. The only reason she kept you away from the Nightosphere so much was because of Kare. She was never going to let him hurt you like he did Mimi."

Jacob felt himself put a little at ease by the Reaper's words. But his mood began to falter as he was reminded about the man he now knew to be his father. "…I'd actually almost forgot about HIM." He said sadly, looking down at his still red hands.

"Take it from me, you don't judge who your father is based on whose genetics created you." Junior told him. "Nor do you base who a child will become on their parents."

Jacob was quiet for a second, still looking at his hands. "That Mimi person you were just talking about…if she's HIM's daughter, then that means she's my sister, right?"

"Yeah."

"Some of the things I've heard about her…was she an important person to you?"

"She was my first real friend, the love of my wife's life, and the person we named our first born child after. ...So you could say that." Junior said, almost a hint of jest in his voice that his face certainly didn't reflect.

"Kind of wish I got to meet her." Jacob mused. Part of him always had wanted a sibling. "She's dead, right?"

"….Yes." Junior said. He wasn't angry, but Jacob could almost feel that Junior shutting down. He was done talking.

And so the silence between the two returned. This went on for half an hour as far as Jacob could tell. The wait continued and went on, until Jacob finally mustered up enough courage to ask something.

"Mr. Reaper?"

Junior didn't answer. He just stayed quiet in his seat. He couldn't even see the Reaper's eyes due to the shadows under his hood.

Jacob was about to back down, figuring that talking wasn't a good idea right now, when finally Junior said "What is it?" in the same even tone as before.

Jacob took a small gulp before speaking. "You remember when you saved MJ from me? How you pushed all that Devil's Essence from me?"

"What about it?"

"Would you be able to do that again?"

Junior looked at him from under his hood. "Are you asking me to get the Devil's Essence out of you?"

"Can you do it?" Jacob asked hopefully.

"I can." Junior said. "But I'm not going to."

Jacob was almost speechless. "But…but why?"

"For the same reasons I'm not sealing off MJ's Demon Reaper powers." Junior explained. "It's your power. Ignoring it won't make it go away, so figure out how to control it and use it for whatever you deem fit."

"But…but I almost killed you and MJ went it took over me."

"When your sister was first infected with that stuff she killed her mother." Junior said, causing Jacob to go wide-eyed in horror. "She was also infected with that stuff when she went directly against Kare's orders to save me and Jeff. As well as when she went on basically a suicide mission into my mother's vault just for a chance at saving Jeff's soul.

"That stuff can make someone do terrible things, but a strong enough heart can always break through it." Junior explained. "You are not HIM's son. You are the boy your mother, all her friends, and your grandfather raised. What that means for this last bit of Devil's Essence I don't keep locked in a sword or Popo's belly, that's for you to decide."

This time, Jacob truly was speechless. He had no idea what to say. The best he could think of was "Thank you." But before he could say anything, he heard the outside handle of the door turn.

And the man who opened it was Hunson Abadeer.

"Grandpa!" Jacob exclaimed happily, rushing out of his chair to him.

"Jacob!" Hunson exclaimed just as happily. He rushed over and picked up his grandson in a big hug, squeezing him tightly in relief.

"Jacob, are you all right? Are you hurt?" Hunson asked, checking him for any injuries.

"I'm fine, grandpa." Jacob said. It was now that Jacob noticed a second person entering the room after Hunson, that second person being…Junior?

Jacob turned around to the other end of the table, sitting in the chair, was also Junior.

Jacob looked back and forth in confusion between the two Grim Reapers, which did not go unnoticed.

"Watch more anime, kid." Junior said as he got up from his chair. "Trust me, it makes it much easier to wrap your head around this."

Seeing the two Juniors side-by-side like this, it was fairly clear how badly injured the Junior that'd arrived with Hunson was. Of course Hunson wasn't in much better shape either. Jacob could see the swelling on his grandfather's beaten face, as well as the numerous blade wounds around his body. Jacob couldn't even imagine the fight that could inflict this much damage to the two of them.

The two Juniors walked towards each other and seemingly merged back into one. Some scars vanished while others stayed, making it very unclear which of the two had been the real one, if that was even the case.

Junior breathed in deeply, taking in memories from both sides of himself. When he finished, he turned to the Abadeers and said "Accommodations have been made for you both here in the Ghost Zone, including food and medical attention. You're both welcome to stay for as long as you like until a new realm is found for you to set up shop in again."

"New realm?" Jacob asked in confusion. "What happened to the Nightosphere?"

"I blew it up." Junior stated.

Jacob blinked. "…..What?"

"Your grandfather will explain it to you." Junior waved off before he explained. "What happens next will not concern you two. All I can say for now is…welcome to the empire."

Two ghost officers entered the room, ready to escort the demons to their accommodations.

As the guards lead them out, Junior waited a moment, the memories of the room and the Nightosphere flowing through his head, before saying "Jacob." Causing the demon vampire to look back at him.

"…To answer your question…yes. I don't regret what I had to do. Not anymore, anyway. But I do still miss her."

Jacob stood there, not sure of what to do. But soon he gave a small bow in thanks for the Reaper answering his question. He then turned back to the guards and left with his grandfather.

Junior was left alone in the room, where he stood for several minutes more, just starring at his reflection in the blade of his scythe. Into his once soft grey eyes that were now a burning demonic red.

 **Chapter end**

* * *

Author's notes: Sorry the fight between Junior and Hunson was kind of weak. I know the final battle between the Demon Reaper and the Deathless Demon should be more exiting, but with the condition Junior was in after fighting the Black Demon Reaper, he knew he was in no shape to take Hunson head-on. So like his wife, Junior had to think of a way around this power gap.

And yes, Junior's eyes are now red like his mother's.

Not much else to say other than this:

 **Everything that Junior just did, that was part 1 of his plan.**

 **Ready for part 2?**

QTP: Did Junior go too far in threatening to hurt Jacob? What will happen to the family Abadeer now that the title of the Nightosphere belongs to Junior? Should Junior have let Jacob keep the Devil's Essence? Why are Junior's eyes now red? Does Junior really miss Mandy? And what's part 2 of Junior's plan?


	32. The Empire strikes back

**Part 32: The Empire strikes back**

 **Detrametal:** Thank you, I liked the way you phrased that.

 **Lord Razer** : Actually this takes place before Gravity Falls timeline-wise and you'll get an idea of why when Junior finally deals with Bill (and don't worry, I have seen the finale).

 **CuteVyper:** Well Junior now owns the Big Five realms, so it's the rest of existence that's in trouble, but you've got the right idea.

1\. Yeah, but blowing a guy's realm up I think sends the message across pretty well without those "nice" words.

2\. Junior still has a little bit left to deal with when it comes to the Abadeers and your guesses are fairly accurate.

3\. I could see Junior making Jacob a general years down the line, as he certainly wouldn't want Jacob's powers to be used against his empire. And keep in mind the best way to get someone on your side is for them to honestly believe you're looking out for them over yourself. Though also keep in mind Junior was friends with Jacob's half-sister and knows how someone can struggle with the essence.

4\. That's not a bad theory and if I was a better writer I might have used it. But like the summery at the top says, this story is Junior coming to terms with how much of his mother's son he really is, as they have a lot more in common than was apparent when he was a child. And as for the bombs, Junior did know that there was one in the Nightosphere because he knew that one was placed in each of the Big Five realms (excluding Death's domain). The problem was he could never get to it before without alerting Hunson to its presence and risk him getting it. He's been working on getting to it for years and it was only because of Hunson trying to start a war with him that Junior had the opportunity to get to it. Again, it's a good theory, and if I was a better writer, I might have used it.

5\. You hit the nail on the head with this one.

6\. This chapter will answer this one.

 **Emeraldalex123:** Nah, your theory is basically what I'm going for here. Personally when it comes to the actual Grim Tales comic I have two theories as to why Mandy's eyes are red. One is basically your theory, so sometime between now and when she married Grim she must have done something so horrible that her eyes changed color to reflect it (and considering that this is Mandy we're talking about, it must have been a dozy). The second theory is that her eye color has some kind of tie to the Devil's Essence, as she apparently was HIM's queen for a time.

And about Mimi, she was resurrected, you're not mistaken. And this is something Junior doesn't want anyone to know about, thus why he wouldn't tell Jacob about it. He didn't even tell Chi about it, she found out on her own.

 **ReadLoverNumber1:** I'm glad to hear that you liked it.

 **nightmaster000:** Well, here you go!

 **AMTT94:** About Manny and Daniela, sorry but they're gone, suffering the same fate as Minnie and HIM but without knowing life first. It's kind of tragic. But do not worry, because once this story is done I'm planning another Grim Tales fanfiction (not connected to this one) which does have Manny and Daniela in it in a more significant role (though not as the main character). I'm thinking of calling it Grim Tales: Complex, so we'll see what happens.

As for Junior as an overprotective dad to a teenage MJ, I don't think that will be happening in this story, as this story only has about three or four more chapters left. But I can probably do a story with that another time, because it does sound fun.

 **Rising Reaper:** Hey, don't worry about it. The fact that you are reading them eventually and posting what you think is more than enough, so no need to rush yourself.

* * *

 **Chapter start:**

"He's gone too far this time!"

"Ma-Ti, please, calm yourself!"

"No! I will not be calm!" The champion of Carealot snapped. "We cannot just turn a blind eye to this!"

The beings Ma-Ti yelled at were the other members of the council: Lord Helix, Doug, the Tooth Fairy, and Atem. The only members of the council not under the Grim Reaper's flag.

"We are not turning a blind eye." The Tooth Fairy retorted. "But you know full well that we can't act rashly against someone like Junior."

"He's destroyed the Nightosphere! With an E-Bomb!" Ma-Ti yelled. "He's had one this entire time and lied about it!"

"And he could have more. That's why we need to think carefully about what we do next." She pointed out.

Knowing that she was right, Ma-Ti breathed and calmed himself down, allowing the others in the chamber a chance to speak.

"Neither Hunson nor Bill Cipher have been seen since the Reaper's attack." Lord Helix informed. "For now, we may have to assume the worst."

"What do you suggest?" Atem asked.

"Lord Abadeer was our best line of defense against Junior's empire. Without him…depending on how much Junior knows of our involvements…we may have to assemble an army for an all-out strike."

"But that's suicide!" Atem argued. "The reason we've never directly acted against him before is because we knew how costly it could be!"

"I know. But if we do not act now, we may never get another chance." Helix said urgently. "You've heard the reports. Junior is weakened. The power and fear he's used to keep his empire together is at its lowest point."

"That could make him desperate and sloppy. Possibly why he showed his hand and used the bomb." The Tooth Fairy pondered.

"That desperation could also make him very dangerous, as evidenced by his use of the bomb." Atem pointed out. "There has to be another way we can go about this other than an all-out war."

"We are well aware of your reluctance to fight against the Reaper, Atem." Helix said. "But he is not the little boy you once knew him as, as he has proven to us all many times over."

Atem sat with his eyes facing the floor, internally struggling with the futility of the situation. It did not go unnoticed by Helix, who put a friendly tentacle on the former king's shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Atem. But we cannot allow this to go any further than it has."

"Nor can we afford to underestimate him again." The Tooth Fairy added. "Would our circle of realms even be enough to attack Death's domain? Many of the realms that have pledged their support did so mainly because Hunson was the one who'd be leading the charge. Without him, I doubt any will stick around to help."

"There are some realms we can still count on." Helix said. "The Mushroom Kingdom and the Digital World have long been close allies of the Pokemon. If I ask them to aid us, they will."

"As is the same with Equestria and Eternia." Ma-Ti said. "I've never known either to back away from a battle with a great evil."

The Tooth Fairy pondered for a minute. "I might be able to reform an old alliance with Anti-Fairy World, if I can offer them the right deal. Atem?"

Atem was reluctant to say anything. "I… …Atlantis holds a great debt to the Egyptian Gods after Leviathan was vanquished. …If I call upon this debt…they will answer it."

"It will have to do." Ma-Ti nodded. "But which realm shall lead the charge?"

"Heaven volunteers." Doug stated determinedly. "Our armies have held back the forces of darkness long before Junior came around, woof. We will gladly shed our blood first to give others the chance at ending this war quickly."

"That is certainly the best we can hope for." Helix said in thanks. "But of course, raw power will not win this coming battle for us. We need to make sure that we do this right and collaborate together as best we can. We must strike fast and come up with a proper plan of-"

"So sorry I'm late, everyone."

Everyone turned in fear to the source of the interruption: The Grim Reaper as he entered the chamber.

"J-J-Junior!" Helix stuttered in fear.

"No, no, don't let me interrupt." The Reaper said as he made his way to the center of the chamber. "Please, continue with what you were discussing. It's been such a long time since you all have actually gathered for one of your official/unofficial secret meetings that I'd hate to cut you short after you went through all the trouble."

"So, we were right. You did know about us." Ma-Ti said, a bead of sweat travelling down his nervous face.

"Yes. Found it out from your pal Bill." Junior said evenly as he stood next to the bonfire. "Course he was acting on behalf of Hunson. Who'd have thought that the traitors to your little group would be the two most obviously evil people in it?" He said sarcastically.

"What are you doing here, Junior?" Atem asked, surprisingly little fear in his voice.

Junior didn't even look at him when he answered. "I'm here to give you all your one chance to surrender."

The room went deafly quiet at his declaration. If it was any lesser being, he would have been laughed out of the room or shot on sight. But this was Junior, and the council could hear it in his tone. He was very serious.

Ma-Ti took a small gulp to build up his courage and asked "Why would we do that?"

"Oh, you know why. Or to be more specific, she knows why." Junior said, pointing at the Tooth Fairy.

The Tooth Fairy blinked in confusion. "Me? Why would I know?"

"You don't realize it because you're sitting down." Junior said. "Stand up and try floating."

The Tooth Fairy looked around the room the other lords, hesitant to do anything the Reaper asked of her. But she decided it would be best to comply and stood up out of her seat. But when she tried to fly…she couldn't.

"W-what?" she asked in shock as her wings flapped hard but amounted to nothing.

"That's because I just had my boys take out that Big Wand of yours." Junior explained.

The Fairy's eyes went wide and went to her wand, which was now completely floppy and lifeless. Completely devoid of magic, like herself.

Junior picked up a pile of ash and threw it into the bonfire. The flames then created windows to the show all the lords in the room what Junior wished to show them. Five windows, each showing a current view of a different realm of the five members. And within each realm was army of Death's soldiers: skeletons, tikbalangs, and ghosts, laying bloody siege upon them all.

"NO!" It was hard to tell which of the lords gave this cry as all of them stood abruptly from their chairs, watching the horror of the inhabitants of their realms being basically slaughtered.

"Quite the show, isn't it?" Junior asked as he watched with them.

"Wait, what's happening to Heaven?" Doug asked, as the viewing window to that realm was completely blacked out.

"Well, I knew my armies could only last for so long against Heaven if I wasn't there with them, so I sent Mr. Popo instead."

"Oh God."

"Yeah, I imagine he's saying the same thing right about now." Junior then turned to face the lords. "Now…about that surrender…"

Ma-Ti watched as another sword cut through another of his bear countrymen and finally could take it no more.

"YOU MONSTER!" He roared, running up to the Reaper, ring of heart burning furiously on his fist.

Junior just stood calmly as the Carealot champion approached him, raising his own hand forward. Opening his hand up, Junior let dangle from his fingers the purple gem of the Nightosphere amulet.

Ma-Ti, along with the rest of the lords, froze at the sight of it.

"You all rallied behind Hunson because you thought I wouldn't be able to break him." Junior said calmly, now having the lords' full attention. "I did. So now that I've completely ruined your chances at forming any sort of effective attack, let me tell you what's going to happen next. You are all going to give a complete unconditional surrender to my empire. Or I kill you all. I let my armies finish killing your citizens. And then I'll go after all those realms you believed you could count on to fight me. It's an action that'll make me a lot of enemies, sure. But as you've learned, I'm very good at taking care of those. So what's it going to be?"

The room went silent was the Reaper finished giving his ultimatum.

It was the hardest choice any of them could ever make. But in a way, it was also the easiest. For as they watched those they represented get mowed down, they knew their hesitation would cost many more lives, and none of them were arrogant enough to believe any of their abilities could take down the Reaper quickly enough to save anyone.

One by one, the council members fell to their knees, bellies, and tentacles and bowed in surrender to their new lord. All but one of them.

Atem stayed standing, watching the siege against the Egyptian Underworld. He was the only one to notice, but the aggression against his own realm seemed a little…less…than the others.

"Are you not going to surrender, Atem?" Junior asked tonelessly.

Atem studied the carnage for a minute more and then turned to Junior. "You will not destroy Egypt or its Underworld."

"Oh really?" Junior questioned as he walked past the bowing council members.

Atem stood his ground and met Junior's glare with his own when he reached him. "We both know why you'd never risk it." Atem stated defiantly. "The person who lives there is connected to the Egyptian Underworld because of you. The person you would never forgive yourself for harming. The person for who, for as long as she lives, means I have nothing to fear from you."

The two stared each other down, the former king's will remaining strong. The other members stayed on the ground, but listened intently, wondering what was to happen next.

"…Perhaps you're right." Junior said, still not showing what his true emotions were. "Unlike these others, I suppose you do have that rare third option. Use one person as a shield and I can't truly touch your realm. It's a good plan. But I think there's one drawback to it that you haven't yet considered."

"What's that?" Atem asked, not allowing himself to be bluffed.

"The fact that the other realms will start to notice how untouched you are by my forces. And once they notice, they'll start asking you why that is. And eventually the pressure will be great enough that you'll have to tell them who she is, which would mean revealing HER location to every last enemy her family ever made. Every enemy who can only ever get revenge on THAT man by going after HER."

Junior walked forward and put his face close to the former king's. "So you're right, Atem. You can keep me away from your realm and its people. And all you'll have to do is sacrifice one child."

Junior's words hung in the air. The will of the great pharaoh trembled and eventually, his head fell in defeat, for the king knew the Reaper was right.

"But you won't do that, will you?" Junior stated. "Because you are a good man."

Atem looked to the bonfire at the attack on his realm. He fell to his knees and bowed. "I surrender."

Junior stood over the five bowing lords. It was done.

In his hand, Junior created a momentary crystal ball to put himself in contact with Box Ghost.

"It's over. Stand down." He ordered.

"Yes sir." Box Ghost saluted, leaving the call to inform the troops.

As the ball vanished, Junior turned to the lords. "I'll have my representatives meet with you all to explain how things will be under my rule. For now, you're free to go."

One by one, the council members got up and left the room, all eager to get away from the man who represented their very crushing defeat.

"One moment though, Atem." Junior said, stopping him by the shoulder. "There's something I'm going to need for you to do for me later. You can do it as a favor or an order, but it's going to happen…"

* * *

It was later on that day that a message was broadcast throughout the many realms. On every TV, radio, witch's cauldron, and surgical eye implant, it was the same.

" _ **Good day to you all. I am Grim Jr. Some of you may not know me. Others of you know me all too well. I am the Grim Reaper. I am Death. If you are hearing this message, then you are in a realm I have conquered, or a realm I easily could.**_

" _ **My actions of late have likely frightened a good number of you, and that's good. You know now what I'm capable of. I have no plans of harming those under my rule any further, but you'd be surprised at what can offend me. So I suggest you tread carefully.**_

" _ **Who is to blame for the conflict that has placed you under my rule; the council of realms, Abadeer, myself, or my mother, it does not matter. I'm simply sending this message out to inform you all of what the mistake was within this conflict.**_

" _ **My enemies thought that I could be weakened. They thought I could be brought down. They thought I could be beaten.**_

" _ **That was the mistake.**_

" _ **Don't make it again."**_

* * *

Later on that day, at Castle Grimskull, Jeff the Spider knocked on the door to his master's office.

"Enter."

Jeff entered into the office, carrying a large sack with him filled to the brim with letters and scrolls. "More...uh…more letters of surrender and offers…sir."

"Just put it in the corner. I'll look through them later." Junior said, barely paying any attention to his servant, more focused on the books he was reading from on his new desk (the old one recently replaced). Jeff got a quick look at the titles as he threw the letters in with the others and was surprised to see the common theme of each book was meditation. Jeff was tempted to question what he was reading up on this subject for, but decided to drop it, mainly because he simply just wanted to get out of the room.

Jeff scurried away without a word and was about to turn the door handle, when…

"Something on your mind, Jeff?"

The ragdoll spider jerked to a stop. The hand around the handle sweat a little bit. "Uh…no. No, not really." He lied.

"Jeff…" Junior warned, his attention now fully on him.

Jeff nervously turned to face him. "Well…it's just…I mean…I can understand the Nightosphere…but all these other realms…especially the ones that were on the council…don't you think that what you did was…going a little too far? Maybe?"

"Of course it was." Junior responded simply.

"Oh." The arachnid blinked, not quite expecting that answer. "But, then why…?"

"I'm not going to justify what I've done, Jeff." Junior said evenly. "I went as far as I thought I needed to in order to get what I wanted. The only realm that was truly threatening me was the Nightosphere. The rest…they are because I'm not letting this situation rise up again. That doesn't excuse what I've done and I'm not going to claim it does."

Jeff still did not quite meet the Reaper's gaze.

"Jeff…if you want to leave, I won't hold it against you." Junior said tonelessly. "You'll always be welcome here, but if what I'm doing is too much, I won't make you stay."

"No, it's not that."

"Then what?"

Jeff was hesitant for a moment before answering. "…When Mandy and HIM went to extremes, it was you and Mimi who got hurt. I just…I don't want that to happen to MJ too."

Jeff braced himself for the Reaper's wrath, something of an instinct from his time serving HIM (and from being Billy's son).

But that wrath never came.

"Jeff…" Junior said gently as he walked on over him. The Reaper then placed a hand on one of the spider's shoulders. "…You're a good friend."

Jeff looked back at Junior in slight surprise. But then relaxed himself. It lasted for just a second, but in that second, he saw the little boy who helped Mimi save his soul all those years ago and gave a small smile.

Junior smiled back at first, but his face suddenly changed, as if something now greatly annoyed him.

"Now, Jeff, if you'll excuse me, I'm about to have my door kicked down for the hundredth time."

"Pardon?"

Almost on cue, the door behind Jeff exploded open as a large black mass burst through it. Junior pushed Jeff out of the way as the mass dove right at him and tackled the Reaper.

"Junior!" Jeff cried out he watched his master using his scythe to keep the teeth of the creature at bay. A creature which Jeff now recognized as a large bat-like monster.

Just at the very minute Jeff was about to swing in and help, Junior held out his hand towards him, signaling for him to stop. "Jeff, you're excused."

The spider blinked "I'm…what?" Caught off guard by how calmly Junior was speaking as the monster tried to rip him open.

"I said you're excused." Junior repeated, barely struggling against his enemy. "I can handle things from here."

Jeff looked back and forth between the monster and his master, unsure of what to do.

"Well…all right…if you're sure…" Jeff said as he hesitantly turned to leave.

"Thank you, Jeff." Junior said casually as he quickly jerked his head to the side to avoid the beast's bite.

Jeff continued out of the room through the broken doorway, continuously turning his head to look back at his master and the beast atop him. As he continued down the hall, he couldn't help but comment to himself his surprise that this never happened when he worked for HIM.

Back in the office the monster continued to try and bite down at the Reaper, its claws pushing him into the floor.

"Keep your eye on the birdy." Junior commented as the blade off his scythe glowed brightly. The blade then fired a large blast across the room and knocked the monster away from him, into the wall.

The monster growled as it rubbed its sore head while Junior just stood up and straightened himself out. "Marceline Abadeer. I was wondering when you'd stop by."

The monster glared daggers at the Reaper before morphing back into a formless black shape. From this mass the creature transformed into a woman. Her black hair was the same shade as that of the bat-creature's fur and Junior could see her fangs were just as sharp as they were previously. She was not in her usual rocker attire, wearing simply a pair of ripped jeans and a red and black striped sweater. And judging by the look on her face, she was certainly not happy with him.

"So, I take it you got my message?" Junior asked as he blasted the broken door with his scythe, commanding it to magically repair itself.

"Where's my son?" She asked sharply, clearly doing her best to not attack him again.

"He's with his grandfather."

"And that would be?"

"We'll get to that in a minute." Junior said as he turned to face her, his response causing the Vampire Queen to then grab him by the throat and hit him against the newly repaired door.

"You'll tell me now!" She roared, her eyes going red and her hair lashing out at the sides.

With her supernatural strength she had quite the grip on the Reaper's neck and thus Junior knew that in his still weakened state he wouldn't be able to make her let go. Thus he didn't even try, simply saying to her "Not until I'm sure."

"Sure of what?" She hissed.

"That your son will be safe if he goes back with you."

Marceline blinked at the Reaper's statement, not quite sure how to react to it. Unsure of what else to do, she let go of his neck and stood Junior back to his feet.

"What do you want?" She asked as Junior brushed himself off.

"I want to know more about your deal with Kare." Junior stated, causing Marceline's eyes to widen in surprise. "…HIM told me about it." Junior explained, anticipating her question.

The Vampire Queen sighed. "Of course he did. Well if he already told you about it then what do you need me for?"

"Because of something your father said." Junior explained as he walked back to his desk. "When we fought earlier he slipped up and said that deal didn't go as planned. I want to know what he meant by that, and given that Kare's gone and I have no reason to believe Hunson would give me a straight answer if I asked him, that just leaves you as the only person who can tell me what was the exact deal your father made with HIM."

"My father didn't make the deal with HIM." Marceline said. "I went to him."

"Hunson sure made it sound he had a role to play in it."

"That's because my dad feels guilty about what happened." She explained. "He thinks it's his fault Kare got me pregnant."

Junior studied her face for a moment, trying to comprehend what she'd just told him. "Go on." He requested with a wave of his hand.

Marceline hesitated to answer, her irritation at the Reaper for putting her in this situation quite clear. But she knew that if she wanted to see her son again she'd have to go along with it.

"After your mom nearly killed him, HIM spent a few years in hiding until he eventually made it to the Nightosphere. He begged my father for sanctuary for old time's sake and when he refused Kare offered to make a deal with him. The thing he wanted most in the world in exchange for hiding him from the rest of existence."

"With what he wanted most being an heir to the family business of universe destroying chaos." Junior commented. "…Hunson told me." He explained, seeing the look of surprise on Marceline's face at him knowing the truth of her family. "Why else do you think he was doing all this?"

Again, Marceline sighed and held her aching head. "Well, that does explain a lot. Anyway, my dad accepted his deal because he was familiar with Kare's work on the RowdyRuff Boys and thought that's what he meant by creating him an heir."

"How do you know that's what Hunson was thinking?" Junior asked. "Most people tend to prefer blood heirs to those just whipped up in a lab and I'm sure Hunson was even more familiar with Kare's work regarding Blossom."

"I know because he was furious with HIM when he found out." Marceline said. "Dad would have torn Kare in half on the spot if their deal wasn't in place. Why do you think he kept him in an icy dungeon for years to slow down his sickness instead of trying to cure it? He wanted Kare to suffer for as long as possible."

"…And you said you were the one who made the deal with HIM?" Junior questioned.

Marceline nodded. "I'd overheard his pleas to my dad and later on after he left the Nightosphere I went to talk to him. To make a deal."

"And I'm guessing your father asked you the same question I'm about to: what did you get out of the deal?" Junior asked.

"I got Kare's binding oath to my father. The swear that all the knowledge and power his rotting demon brain had left would be used to help my dad with whatever he needed."

"You did this to make sure that Hunson would be protected from me?" Junior asked evenly, to which Marceline nodded to with a stare.

"That's how the deal went. I gave Kare a kid. My dad gave him a hiding place. And HIM gave my dad all he could to help be on guard against you and whatever your mom left behind. Now where's my son?" She demanded.

"Almost." Junior said, holding up his finger. "I just have one more question."

"Which is?" She snarled.

"What the hell were you thinking?!" Junior snapped.

"Excuse me?!"

"Let's forget for a moment that you made a deal with a man whom I'm sure once owned a gold chain necklace with the words "Born to Sin" running across them, a man whom more than likely was responsible for aiding Hunson in some of the shit he pulled, and let's instead just focus on the stupid error in judgement you made when you somehow got it into your head that Hunson Abadeer of all people needed to be protected from me!" Junior ranted. "Hunson was never afraid of me. He made that quite clear."

"You haven't seen him when I have." Marceline defended.

"That must have been when you were blind and in the dark, because that is the only explanation I can think of for how you'd get that idea in your head." Junior countered. "Because the fact of the matter is that if your father hadn't pulled all this crap I never would have had any reason to go after him!"

"You mean like Hell or the Ghost Zone?" Marceline shot back.

Junior opened his mouth to say something but hesitated and went silent.

"Kare came to us shortly after you massacred Hell." Marceline continued. "Needless to say we had plenty of reason to be worried about you back then."

Junior stayed quiet for a minute. "That's…understandable, I suppose. But…even through you're the daughter of one of the Big Five, you've never really been involved in the affairs of the Underworld. And the Nightosphere wasn't actively involved in my mother's war, so it's not like you or Ooo were feeling threatened. So why jump into things when you did? Why not just let things down here play out and assume that your father knew what he was doing?"

This time it was Marceline's turn to fall silent. She had an answer to his question but that didn't make it any easier to bring up.

"Have you ever heard of a man named Simon Petrikov?" She asked.

"Can't say that I have." Junior said.

"That's probably because he's not dead. If he even can die it's not going to be for a while." She continued. "When I was a child Simon was my only friend. He took care of me after my mother died and the Mushroom War devastated the planet. We faced constant danger every day and in order to protect me, Simon basically gave up his sanity of the power the ice crown could give him."

Junior could see the effort the Vampire Queen was using to force back tears triggered by these memories. He said nothing about it a let her continue when she was ready.

"The man I once knew as Simon is basically gone, destroyed by the situation he was placed in." Marceline wiped her eyes and then glared at Junior. "I've seen what people like you do to the world. I've seen what people like you do to those I love. I couldn't do anything to help Simon before it was too late. This time I at least had a chance to keep my dad from suffering the same fate."

It was quiet in the room after that. Marceline's words sinking into the both of them.

"Satisfied?" She asked in anger.

Junior took a moment and then got up from his desk. Scythe in hand, he slashed open a portal in the center of the room.

"This will take you to the Ghost Zone prison." Junior pointed. "Once you're there the guards will escort you to your family."

Marceline eyed the portal carefully, judging if she'd be walking into a trap. After a few more seconds she walked forward to go through. But before she did Junior grabbed her lightly by the shoulder.

"One more thing." He said as she turned to face him. "If your son ever wants to come over to play with my daughter, I suggest you let him."

"Why would I do that?" She asked bluntly, as she certainly didn't want Jacob anywhere near the Grim family after this.

"Because otherwise they'll start sneaking out to see each other. And when has that ever not gone wrong?" Junior pointed out.

Marceline wanted to retort, but honestly knew he had a point. Holding her silence, she simply turned and went through the portal.

* * *

Hunson opened the door to his grandson's room yet again, checking up on the sleeping child. He'd done this every couple of hours, just to make sure that his grandson was alright. It was a bit paranoid, but considering where they were and their situation, it was certainly understandable. Besides, he couldn't get much sleep himself and had nothing better to do.

As with the last few times he'd checked, Jacob was fast asleep in the bed Junior's forces had provided. He could see his chest rise and fall at a calm pace and Hunson breathed a sigh of relief, glad to see the boy was having a peaceful sleep. The Devil's Essence didn't seem to be causing him any problems as he feared it would. Though he certainly wondered why Junior hadn't removed the essence from him, that was a question another day.

Hunson gently closed the door so not to wake him and walked over the kitchen the small dwelling provided, thinking maybe some food would take his mind off everything for a moment.

But just at the moment he was about to open the fridge, one of the police ghosts entered the dwelling.

"Abadeer. You got a visitor."

"Visitor?" Hunson asked in confusion.

It was a moment later that the grey skinned woman floated in past the ghost officer.

"Marceline!" Hunson exclaimed happily. "Marceline, what are you doing he-"

The demon was interrupted by a quick grey fist striking him right in the jaw, knocking him to the floor.

"Ok. I deserved that."

Marceline hovered over her father, her eyes practically blazing with anger. "Where's Jacob?" She hissed.

Hunson pointed over to the bedroom as he rubbed where Marceline had struck him.

The Vampire Queen quickly rushed over to the door. Surprisingly she did not fly right over to her son the moment she opened the door. For when she opened the door she just floated in the doorway, her reaction so similar to her father's. Just a rush of relief to see that he was ok.

She wanted nothing more than to go over to him and wake him up and hug him tightly in her arms, to tell him that it was all ok now. But she quietly closed the door again and floated back over to her father. There was something that needed to be done first.

Hunson got back up to his feet to talk with his daughter. "I checked him for injuries as soon as we got here. He didn't get too badly hurt when he fought the Black Demon Reaper and Junior didn't seem to do anything when he took him from the Nightosphere, so he seems to be ok-"

Marceline then proceeded to strike him across the face once again.

"…And I deserved that one too." Hunson commented, rubbing the purple bruise forming across his face.

"You deserve a lot worse than that." Marceline cursed through her clenched teeth. "Dad, what the hell were you thinking?!"

"Marceline, you know I've been working on this universe ending plan for ages. I used to tell you all about them when we were traveling togeth-"

"Not that!" She interrupted. "You want to antagonize Death into going to war with you, fine, that's your business, but how dare you drag Jacob into it!"

"I didn't bring him there! Kare did!" Hunson defended, sounding actually a little angry. "Do you really think I'd set loose a monstrous Demon Reaper in my realm with my own grandson standing two feet from it?"

"Junior certainly seemed to think so and at the moment I'm having trouble not thinking the same thing." Marceline yelled. "Maybe you and Kare were in cahoots with each other way before he came begging for your help. Maybe you tricked me into feeling sorry enough for you that I'd let Kare knock me up and give you the heir you've always wanted!"

"What?! Marceline, no! I would…I would never do that!" Hunson stammered, his voice pleading for her to believe him. "I know I haven't been the best father over the years, there's no doubt about that, but I never wanted you to have to go through any of this, especially for me."

Hunson got a little closer to his daughter a placed his hands gently on her shoulders. "It's true. Kare, Bill, and I, we came up with a lot of plans for starting a war with Junior. Both those guys actively encouraged what I wanted to make happen. And when Junior's little girl unleashed her Demon Reaper powers, I did fall back on one of those plans. One reason is because I don't know how we could have stopped her otherwise and another is because I didn't want to lose my chance. That part is selfish, I know. But believe me, if there was any other way that Jacob could have gotten his true power unlocked, or better yet if he just hadn't been there at all, that is what I would have greatly preferred. Because no father ever wants to see his family get hurt."

Marceline was quiet for a moment, letting her hair fall in front of her face so that she didn't have to look directly at her father. After a minute, Marceline brushed his hand off her shoulders.

"Why should I believe you?" She asked. "After all this, why should I believe anything you say?" This was not an accusational question. This was Marceline honestly asking her father for any reason he could give for her to still trust him.

"Because…because…" Hunson stammered. And then he gave a heavy sigh. "…Because…maybe if I had told you the truth from the very beginning…maybe we wouldn't be in this mess."

Marceline could see it in the features of her father's face. He was being completely honest, for only an unpleasant truth could cause as much pain as she was seeing right now.

"What truth?" She asked gently.

Hunson took a breath before answering. "…It happened at the end of Mandy's war with HIM…"

 **Chapter End**

* * *

Author's notes: Flashback time! Clearly that is the only thing of significance that happened in this chapter.

And in case I wrote it really badly to the point where it doesn't make any sense, Atem and Junior were talking about the reincarnated Mimi, someone only they, Chi, and Jeff know about. The reason why they don't want this knowledge to go public is because HIM had a lot of enemies and hurting Mimi is the closest they can get to getting revenge (not that he ever gave a damn about her).

QTP: Why is Junior studying meditation? Did Atem make the right choice in surrendering? What is the favor Junior asked Atem for? Can Marceline ever trust her father again? How far gone is Junior after all he's done? Can his family and friends still feel safe around him? What is the truth Hunson should have told his daughter?


	33. Forgiveness for the Undivine?

**Part 33: Forgiveness for the Undivine?**

 **nightmaster000:** It's not likely that they'll have a bigger role later on, as after this chapter there should only be two more chapters left in the story and I want to use those to wrap things up.

 **Lord Razer:** If by Lucifer you are referring to the devil, then he's quite dead (because of Mandy). If it's a different Lucifer, I don't know who you're talking about.

 **CuteVyper:** Well the reason I started doing the QTP's halfway through the story is because other people will come up with ideas that I would have never considered. Even if I don't use them in the current story, those ideas can still be sent in place for other stories down the line. I'd like to think I'm an okay writer, but it's always a good idea to see things from more than one perspective.

1\. Sorry, but that's not correct (though for giving himself some moments of peace meditation certainly couldn't hurt). I'm not really expecting anyone to get this one, honestly.

2\. This one is correct and you're certainly right that without Mimi being tied to Atem Junior would go full force. Heck, if Atem had refused and Mimi got hurt because of it Junior probably would have struck even harder at that realm.

3\. Well your theories about what the favor is not are spot on, as pretty much all of Junior's family is gone, save for his mother (whom he doesn't want back among the living) and his daughter. One of your ideas is halfway right, it just has the wrong person in it (but that's for next chapter).

3\. I agree.

4\. You hit the nail on the head with this one.

5\. I have a similar idea about Mandy in the actual Grim Tales comic, as I think she certain cares about her kids (maybe even loves them) but they both know her reputation and would be right to be cautious of her.

6\. Well, here's your answer (the chapter, I mean).

Now to answer your question: I won't have it in the story, but for some background knowledge, I do have Finn and PB know who Jacob's father is, as Marceline certainly wasn't going to be able to keep it a secret from them. The reason why they never told Jacob what they knew is because Marceline asked them not to. As her friends and given this is something she wanted to keep from Jacob to protect him, they'd certainly respect her wishes. Especially Princess Bubblegum, given their history and that she knows Marceline well enough to know that she wouldn't do something as drastic as this unless it was something really important.

And as for Bill, when you have goals as big as his, you're not going to let many things stop you (though Junior is certainly going to give him a worry or two).

 **ReadLoverNumber1:** Thank you.

 **AMTT94:** Could Junior meet the same fate as his mother? Well not for now, but who knows what the future holds, especially with all the secrets Junior is still holding onto.

 **Ragnaroll:** Thank you, I'm glad you like it so far.

 **Emeraldalex123:** Basically the thing about HIM wanting an heir is because of a certain characteristic of his: he likes it when people suffer. He likes it when there is misery, despair, and plenty of sin to go around. All of which Junior fits with, either in what he does to others or the tragedy that is his own life.

For now I'll say you're right about the favor and wrong about the meditation (though honestly I'm not really expecting anyone to get that one).

 **TexasGunKing:** Yeah, but not without a fight.

 **Eckskalibur:** I looked up your account, so thanks for posting your username so I knew you were legit. Sorry to hear you don't have access. Do you know why?

And as for your questions, I don't want to say too much right now, but I will say that you have the right idea on one of your questions, and Hint: the one that is not correct is because I feel that it would cheapen what Junior has done if it was true (though admittedly that is just my own personal view).

 **Rising Reaper:** Well, only this and two more chapters, so the next is coming soon.

* * *

 **Chapter start:**

 _ **Time of War's End:**_

 _Hunson Abadeer walked through the halls of his palace, flipping through the mail of the day._

" _Plea for mercy, plea for mercy, bill, bill, plea for mercy, letter from Bill, plea for mercy. Ohh! Two-for-one spa treatment at Silent Hill resorts! I should ask Peppermint Butler to come with. We haven't hung out in ages."_

 _Hunson opened the door to his office as he continued to flip through his mail, looking up from the sack when he realized that there was someone siting in his chair. A woman whose outward beauty showed that she wasn't one of the realms citizens and whose inner darkness made everyone in the Nightosphere very happy for that fact._

" _Hello, Abadeer."_

" _Mandy?" Hunson asked in confusion. To see someone in your home that you didn't invite is strange enough. To see the person who just recently became the Empress of the majority of the Underworld in your home…all words seem to feel a bit lacking._

" _Surprised to see me?" Mandy asked. She sat in the demon's chair with crossed intertwined fingers and an icy calm demeanor, almost like that of a Bond villain._

 _Hunson walked over to the window, peaking out over the fiery landscape. "More surprised to see that there isn't an army standing on my doorstep." He commented. "I mean, we've never been enemies but neither were Hades, Fairy World, or most of the others and we both know what you did to them."_

" _Trust me, I treat my enemies much worse." Mandy pointed out._

" _Right. I heard about your little parting gift to Kare. Congrats on that by the way." Hunson said casually as he dropped his mail on his desk. "Not planning on doing the same to me, are you? Because that would kind of suck."_

" _I'm prepared to." Mandy said evenly, as if it were just a simple fact to her. "But that's not why I'm here."_

" _Then why are you here?" He asked._

" _I have a proposition for you." She stated._

 _Hunson raised an eyebrow at her. "Really? Not to be overly skeptical, but you're not really known for making deals. Or, I should say, you're not known for making deals were you don't get everything out of it."_

" _The deal I'm going to make with you IS one where I get everything, so you don't have to worry about that."_

" _Fairly certain that's not what I meant." Hunson commented under his breath, but Mandy ignored him._

" _I've had my eye on you for a while now, Abadeer." She started. "The lore about you and what you are is pretty well buried, to the point where even Grim and his parents barely know a thing about you."_

" _But I'm guessing that didn't stop you from finding out." Hunson commented with a smile._

" _I have my ways." Mandy said simply. "A creature like you, one who thrives on chaos, you presented a serious threat to my plans. I start a war and you work your family's magic to get it to go out of control until it destroys the universe and by extension my empire. Once the fight between Kare and I got started I made sure that my forces kept a close eye on you, ready to take you down the moment you tried anything._

" _And, almost insultingly, you never did."_

" _Insulting?" Hunson asked. "That's not a term I usually hear when I decide_ _not_ _to bring harm to someone."_

" _My war was one of the biggest the Underworld had ever seen. Possibly bigger than that of the Great Divide." Mandy pointed out. "It was the perfect opportunity for you and yet you didn't act."_

" _Look, Mandy, not to be a jerk or anything, but not everyone works on the same schedule." Hunson said playfully. "Sometimes you just can't find the right moments to go and blow up a universe."_

" _I suppose the excuse you're going to make is your daughter?" Mandy asked. Hunson was about to answer yes but caught the note of something sinister in the queen's words. "I thought that was the exact reason for a while. But then again, you thought just giving your daughter an amulet filled with chaotic evil was going to be enough to get her into your family business. Ending the universe and giving Marceline no choice but to carry on to the next one isn't that far outside that realm of logic."_

" _You know, they say that people who think like we do about our kids should probably take parenting classes." Hunson said. "Then again I imagine a requirement is that you still have kids, so you might be exempt from that."_

 _Mandy showed no reaction to the demon's comment. She just continued on with what she was going to say. And if Hunson didn't know better, he could almost have sworn he saw a smirk forming across her lips._

" _I found her, Abadeer."_

" _Who?"_

" _Your wife."_

 _Hunson's eyes went wide as Mandy's words hung in the air of the silent office._

 _He could barely speak. "H-how? …Where?"_

" _Being the wife of Death for so many years does have its benefits." Mandy stated calmly, noticeably not giving him the answers he really wanted. "What's it been? Nearly a thousand years since you last saw her, I believe. The human woman you fell in love with, who agreed to have your child. I imagine Marceline misses her even more than you do."_

 _No words could leave the Nightosphere ruler's mouth. His palms sweat and his throat hurt. This is what the mere mention of his beloved wife after all these years did to him. The mention that his beloved wife was in the hands of this woman before him._

" _She's not like you and Marceline." Mandy continued. "And you know that. You know that if you end this plane of existence, you'd never see her again. I admit, I'm curious if you had a way to bring her with you when you moved on into the chaos or if you just wanted to see her one last time. But…in all honesty, it doesn't really matter."_

 _Mandy got up from the chair and slowly made her way around the desk to Hunson, taking her time, as it was clear she held all the power at the moment. Just as she preferred._

" _The Nightosphere is one of the last of the very few realms I have not yet conquered. And it is also the strongest of them." She explained. "Those other realms and the rebel groups that oppose my rule, eventually they'll make their way to you, begging for help from one of the only kingdoms that has managed to stay out of my grasp. …When these people come to you, I want you agree to aid them. Give them as much help and sanctuary as you can. Amass an army of all those who oppose me, one strong enough to get them to think they have a chance. …And when they are ready to fight, betray them all to me, so that I may in one fell swoop take out the last of those who oppose me and claim for those remaining realms for my empire._

" _Do this…and I will give you your wife back."_

 _Mandy held out her hand to him. Though Hunson stared at her hand for just a few seconds it felt like an eternity. The deal she presented and everything her hand represented raced through the demon's mind. If he did this, he would be a traitor not seen since the days of Judas or the fall of Megaville._

 _And even this in mind it was barely a choice in need of second thought._

 _He grasped Mandy's hand and they shook on it._

* * *

 _ **Three days later:**_

" _You're in an awfully chipper mood, dad." Marceline said._

" _I am? I hadn't noticed."_

 _It was just another normal chaotic day in the Nightosphere, the only difference from any other day was the ruler's daughter deciding to come visit. She tried to stop by every month or so, as they both wanted to rebuild the father/daughter relationship that'd been broken apart by the Fries incident all those years ago. While it could be crazy boring for her, Marceline did enjoy spending time with her father again, though as she said, he did seem a little different today. He whistled a pleasant tune to himself as he sent Blood Mist over the Nightosphere citizens and seemed too lost in a happy daze to laugh when one of them was sat on by one of the demon transporters._

 _Marceline floated playfully in front of her father. "Come on, dad, tell me what's up."_

" _It's nothing." He assured her with a smile. "I'm…just in a good mood." He said with a shrug._

" _That's a little surprising since all your neighboring realms have been rounded up and cattle branded by that Mandy chick. Aren't you worried?"_

" _Mandy? Nah, we're cool."_

" _Really?" Marceline said with a cocked eyebrow._

" _What? I can be diplomatic when I need to be."_

" _Aren't you an eternal oppressive monarch?"_

" _A diplomatic eternal oppressive monarch." Hunson joked with her._

 _Marceline sighed at her dad's lameness and gave him a soft smile. "Alright then, don't tell. But be warned, I'm good at finding out stuff. Like that one night where Bonnibel thought that she could hide her lip-gloss from me by shoving it up her-"_

 _A portal into cosmic space than opened up before the two, a single dirty owl with a messenger bag flying through it and then proceeding to smack against the wall and knock itself out._

 _Hunson sighed as the owl came to and picked itself off the ground. "Friggin' messenger owl service. They always send me their worst ones because they're afraid I'd keep them trapped here forever."_

" _Wouldn't you?" Marceline asked._

" _Well of course I would but that's no excuse for poor service." Hunson said before turning back to the owl. "Alright, Errol, what have you got for me today?"_

" _Whooo. News concerning the late Empress Mandy." The owl cooed._

" _Well what has she done this ti-! Wait…late? As in…dead?" Hunson exclaimed._

 _Errol nodded. "Yes. It's truoooo. She was murdered just this morning in her own throne room."_

" _But I thought Mandy was immortal." Marceline said. "Who killed her?"_

" _Her first born child. Grim Junior the second." Errol answered. "Contrary to the rumor, he apparently did not perish in some forgotten wasteland. In fact, rumor is going around that he was in the Land of Tainted Souls when Mandy destroyed it, yet was strong enough to survive her bomb."_

" _Dude, hardcore." Marceline said, greatly impressed. "I met the guy once when he and his sister were passing through Ooo. I didn't think the kid had it in him. What about you, dad?"_

 _Marceline turned to look at her father, only to see him with his back to the wall as if he were about to fall over and his hand touching against his forehead, as if to keep himself from falling apart._

" _Dad?" Marceline quickly flew over to him. "Dad, what's wrong?"_

 _Marceline shook her father a bit and it brought him back to his senses, though just slightly._

" _Oh, I'm…I'm fine…Marceline. I'm…sorry. I…have to go." He said brokenly, still in shock over the news. "The…council…The council will probably be calling for a meeting soon. I should…I should make sure I'm in my office when it…" And the demon just trailed off from there. He barely even looked at his daughter as he turned away from her and walked away._

"… _Dad?" Marceline said with quiet worry as he continued to walk away. She had never seen her father in such a state before. But unfortunately, over the many years, she'd seen plenty of others in such state to know what it meant._

 _Or at least she thought she did._

* * *

 **Now:**

It had been minutes since Hunson had finished telling Marceline his story and during those minutes neither had said a single word to the other. Both father and daughter sat on the floor, Marceline needing a moment to digest what she'd heard and Hunson needing a moment to recover from the pain of telling it.

"Why…" Marceline coughed, finally ready to talk. "…Why didn't you tell this all before?"

"How could I?" Hunson said. "How could I tell you that your mother's soul was in the hands of someone who could betray me at any moment? How could I tell you that our one chance of seeing your mother again is gone forever?"

"But…but it's not gone!" Marceline stammered. "We could still find her. Maybe…maybe Junior could-"

"Junior doesn't know where she is." Hunson interrupted. "And that's not just an assumption. Mandy kept this secret all to herself, because that's where she knew it'd be safest. If I tried to betray her, tried to kill her, or suck out her soul, then wherever she left your mother would be lost forever. It's not something she would have written down for others to find and it's certainly not something she would have told Junior."

Marceline stayed seated on the floor, unable to find the words.

"I know this doesn't justify what I've done." Hunson continued. "I mean, it's the Underworld. Nothing is ever really justified down here, we just kind of do things. …Heh…and it certainly doesn't feel justified to me. Maybe if I had told you about Mandy's deal with me from the beginning you wouldn't have gotten involved with Kare and been dragged into this. Maybe you could have been the voice of reason for me. …I was so angry with Junior for what he cost me…but I'd like to believe I never blamed him for it. His only sin was being born into the kingdom I wanted to burn for what its queen did to me. …And that's where Kare came in…

"He did try to give me what I wanted most…a chance to make sure that family never hurt mine again…"

Still, Marceline said nothing and her hair blocked his view of her face.

Hunson looked down to the floor in shame. "Marceline…I-OOF!" He was caught off guard when suddenly his daughter flew up to him and wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly, her head over his shoulder.

"I forgive you." She said as tears flowed steadily down her face.

It took a moment and then Hunson broke as well. He hugged her back just as tightly, her sweater muffling his own cries.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the bedroom door where youngest Abadeer still slept, there was another man within the room with his back to the door.

It was Grim Junior. He'd arrived shortly after Marceline did, deciding it would be a good idea to personally keep an eye on the family.

Every word of Hunson's story to his daughter and the aftermath that followed, Junior heard it all.

Junior stood quietly as he looked into his reflection in the scythe's blade, before tearing open a portal home and leaving without a word.

 **Chapter End**

* * *

Author's Notes: And so that was Hunson's tie-in to the big overall story, that being that Mandy was basically blackmailing him (certainly doesn't feel like a bribe). And I'm glad I'm getting this chapter out now, as, at the moment in Adventure Time, we still don't know what happened to Marceline's mom (it's just being assumed at the moment that she was Hunson's wife). We just know what she looked like, that she was human, and that she probably did love Hunson and he her.

So now it's just two more chapters to go and this story will be over. Hopefully I don't suds it up, but we'll see.

QTP: Was this secret something HUnson should have kept from his daughter? Should Hunson have just asked Junior for help instead of plotting to destroy his mother's kingdom or was he right not to? What will happen to the family Abadeer now after all this? What is Junior thinking as he leaves at the end?


	34. The paths we walk

**Part 34:** **The paths we walk**

 **Lord Razer:** Yeah. Nothing hurts worse than what could have been, other than what should have been (I'm not entirely sure if what I said makes sense).

 **Rioludoodle:** Thank you. I was honestly afraid I wouldn't be able to pull it off, so this helps.

 **AMTT94:** Hopefully this chapter will make up for some of the other's shortness. Junior is definitely going to keep his eye out for Marceline's mother, but hard to say what'll happen if and when he finds her.

 **Emeraldalex123:** I did think about Marceline's mother while watching the show, but that's because I binged-watch the entire series and had everything Adventure Time related going through my head. It was amazing.

And you're not wrong. With Mandy dead the deal she and Hunson made is no longer in affect. But the problem is that she did die and told no one the location of where Hunson's wife is. That was Mandy's ace in the hole. If anything happened to her or if Hunson made something happen to her, he would never get to see his wife again. Hunson didn't start a war with Junior in order to fulfill his end of the deal. He did it because he wanted Mandy's kingdom to burn for what it cost him.

 **CuteVyper:** Yeah, I think in Adventure Time Marshall Lee said that he was the son of a demon and the vampire king, so being the gender-bent Marceline it would make since to assume that her mother was a vampire queen. Popular theory is that since it was Marceline telling the Fionna and Cake story, she just made up that part for Marshall Lee's character.

1\. True, but no parent ever wants to hurt their child. Especially when they have no way of making them feel better.

2\. Probably. And there's no guarantee that Junior would be able to help anyway.

3\. True.

4\. Honestly you're not that far off.

* * *

 **Chapter start**

Egypt. It is known as the land of kings, hot sand, and home to the only river in the world people seem to care about or even remember the name of. While relatively pleasant when night falls, the blistering heat of day makes it a place to be avoided by anyone with a dislike of the sun. Thus why it is strange that, even during one of these pleasant nights, that the land is graced by the presence of two creatures of the night: vampires.

More specifically, a vampire demon and her half-devil son.

Jacob sat under the starry night sky of a small Egyptian village at a picnic table just outside a bakery. His mother was inside ordering some food for the road for them. When she gets out he knew there'd be a lot for them to talk about, most of which neither will be quite ready to talk about. Not yet.

As Jacob looked up at the stars, he couldn't help but comment on how similar they looked like the stars back home from the top of Finn and Jake's treehouse. Of course they weren't the same though. This Earth was different from the one where Ooo was. Different dimensions and all that.

His mother never really explained why they're were going to be living here of all places for a little while, aside from just the simple mention that her old friend Atem, a high-ranking priest in Anubis' court, had invited them (apparently, long ago, Atem had sought Marceline out for some advice for dealing with soul-stealing psychopaths, a problem he often encountered while he lived (ironic, isn't it?)). Though just because she didn't tell him directly didn't mean Jacob couldn't figure it out for himself.

Simply put, they just needed to get away from everything and Atem's invitation was a perfect excuse. Away from the Underworld, away from the almost-war, and away from Junior. Though a bit worrying at first, given that Atem basically worked for the Reaper now, Marceline knew the former king well enough to know that he'd never betray his friends, so she trusted his word and did not take the invite as a trap.

Still waiting for his mother, Jacob stretched out in with a yawn and folded his arms on the table, his eyes instantly being attracted to the redness of his skin, something he was still not used to. Looking sadly at it for a moment, Jacob shoved his arms into his sleeves to avoid looking at them. Not just because he hated the power of sin that ran through him, but because he hated how it made his mother feel.

Though she did the best to hide it, every time she looked at him Jacob could see the guilt and sadness that filled her features. She hated herself and the deal she'd made all those years ago with his father. She hated herself for how badly she'd messed up his life before he was even born.

He wanted to tell her that it was okay, that he didn't blame her for any of what had happened. And if either were ready to talk yet, maybe he would.

He had angry at first, no doubt, when he found out his mother had lied to him about his father for so long. But after learning firsthand what he was like, he honestly kind of wished he still didn't know and certainly didn't blame her for trying to spare him from that.

" _Or this…"_ He thought to himself as he could still feel the heat from the essence across his body. It didn't hurt as much as it did a couple of hours ago. Maybe it was because they were in a less sinful area than the Underworld or perhaps he'd simply gotten used to it. Relatively speaking of course, as he still wanted no part of his father's lineage.

If there was anyone Jacob had conflicted feelings over throughout this whole thing, it was Junior. The man who blew up his home (one of them), kidnapped him, forced his grandfather into surrender, saved his life and the life of his best friend, and was letting him keep a power that he had every reason to take away.

Jacob slipped his arm back out of his sleeve and just looked at it. Could he really learn to control this stuff? Junior certainly seemed to think so but Jacob couldn't see how. Every time he looked or even thought about his red he thought back to the giant monster he'd become back in the Nightosphere, the one that would have killed MJ if Junior hadn't stepped in. Maybe Junior was letting him keep the essence just so maybe this all wouldn't happen again, but for the moment, Jacob just couldn't see how he could ever look past what this stuff had made him do…

"Whoa, that is a nasty sunburn you got there, kid!"

Jacob was snapped out of his thoughts by the sudden voice. Looking in its direction, Jacob saw a girl standing on the other side of the table from him. She was a teenager, probably about fourteen or fifteen if he had to guess, with long dark hair and tan skin. A local by the look of it. And given that she was wearing an apron and holding a basket of muffins, it seemed that she worked at this very bakery.

"Guessing you're not from around here." The girl said. "Most people in this town practically bathe in sunscreen."

Jacob hid his arm back into his sleeve, not that it did much good since his face was still visible. "Y-yeah…." He stuttered, not used to ever talking with a human other than Finn "My mom and I…we're just on vacation for a few weeks. We're….we're going to meet a friend."

"Really?" The girl asked him. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I love this place, but most people who travel all the way to Egypt for vacation tend to stay closer to the sphinx or the pyramids. And we're quite a few miles away from those."

"We're…we're not really interested in sight-seeing." Jacob relied.

The dark haired girl looked at him curiously. She studied his face for a minute before nodding. "I see…"

"What?"

"You're having trouble back home, aren't you? With your dad if I had to guess.

Jacob almost went wide-eyed at the accuracy of her assumption.

The girl smirked. "I'm right, aren't I? Ma figures that the Gods have blessed me with "The Gift" but really it's just luck and observation. A troubled kid and his mother coming out to the middle of nowhere? What else could I think? Though…admittedly…I probably don't have the best opinion of fathers. Mine left before I was even born. Never met the guy…"

"I wish I could say the same." Jacob slipped out, surprising himself that he just suddenly opened up to this stranger.

"I can imagine." The girl said. She seemed lost in thought for a moment before suddenly checking her watch. "Oh shit!" She exclaimed before quickly yanking off her apron. "Sorry kid, but I got deliveries to make!" The girl started to run off, stuffing the apron into her basket as she went. She took one quick look back and saw Jacob, still sitting all alone at the table.

The girl slowed her pace and eventually stopped. Taking a moment to think about it, the girl took out a piece of paper and wrote something down before running back to where Jacob was.

"Here." She said as she set the paper down in front of him with a muffin on top.

Jacob looked at both in confusion. 'What's this?" He asked.

"That is my phone number." She explained. "It can get crazy bring around here when I'm not working and you look like you could use a friend. So if you ever need someone to just vent to about your old man, give me a call." She smiled, making the phone gesture with her hand. "The muffin is just because I always pack a spare."

Jacob looked in awe at what she'd given him. "I…I don't know what to say."

"How about your name for starters?" The girl suggested. "That'll make this a little less awkward than it already is."

"J-Jacob." He stuttered. "My name's Jacob."

"Imim." She said, giving her own. "I'll be seeing you around, Jacob." She smiled as she ran off on her delivery.

Jacob watched her go until she disappeared from his sight. He held the paper in his hand with a small smile creeping across his face, not realizing that the Devil's Essence was causing him no more pain.

* * *

Jeff crawled along the walls of Castle Grimskull, dusting the paintings as he went. It was a fairly easy job, as surprisingly the home, even with its large size and the number of servants within, very rarely became all that dirty.

Jeff was just about to dust the portrait of the Grim family (back when it consisted of Junior, Minnie, and their parents) when he heard the familiar sound of a scythe cutting through air.

Normally this would be nothing unusual, as the sound was usually the indicator that the lord of the house had just arrived home via scythe portal. The difference this time however was that Junior was already home. And Jeff knew this.

Skittering cautiously across the wall Jeff approached where he heard the sound come from. Turning the corner he saw the open, spiraling portal. It looked exactly like one of the portals Junior would create. Though strangely, unlike when Junior made a portal, where it would be straight up-and-down like a doorway, this portal hung several feet in the air and pointed directly towards the floor.

Figuring it'd be a good idea to get Junior, Jeff was about to turn and run, when he then heard a small sound. One that was getting louder. Like someone was yelling.

And suddenly from the portal a black mass was spat out, likely much faster than intended, as it hit the ground with a rather loud smack, the portal closing behind it.

"Owwww…" The mass groaned as it lay flat on the floor. "My face…"

As the shape started to get up, Jeff realized that he recognized the voice. And a moment later realized that the black mass he was seeing was a hooded robe, very similar to what Grim Senior had worn years prior.

"MJ?"

The hooded figure stiffened at the sound of Jeff's voice. Turning slowly (and reluctantly) around, the opening of the hood revealed the pale face and red hair that did indeed belong to the daughter of the lord and lady of Death's Domain. "…I am so grounded." She gulped.

Though he was stunned for a minute, Jeff eventually snapped out of it and rushed over to the girl, carefully picking her up by the undersides of her arms to help her stand back up.

"MJ, are you alright? That was quite a nasty fall you just took." Jeff asked with concern, checking around her for any injuries.

"It's alright, Jeff. I'm okay." MJ said. The ragdoll spider had basically been a nanny for her the majority of her life and so she was used to him getting worried over her and always making sure that she wasn't getting hurt. That was partially the reason why she tried kept her and Jacob's adventures a secret. Her parents might have conflicting opinions over it, but she was certain Jeff would have a heart attack over them.

After being satisfied that she wasn't injured, Jeff stopped checking her. But when he did he then took notice of what laid on the floor next to where MJ had fallen. It was a scythe. Though it was more black and green than Junior's it bore a striking resemblance to the ancient weapon. Including, however, its length, which was far too long for someone of MJ's height.

Upon picking the weapon up he saw the reason for its length, as the end bent like a string and led back to the girl's body. The scythe was attached to her. It was made from her own body in essentially the same way as the weapons Junior created using his Nergal abilities.

"You created a scythe?" Jeff asked.

MJ eyed the weapon in the spider's hand guiltily. "…Yeah…sorry." She confessed. Jeff felt the scythe wiggle in his hand and then it broke apart into a mass of thin tentacles that then receded back into the young girl's body, much to his surprise. "Please don't be mad. I just wanted to practice using my powers. I wasn't trying to sneak out, I swear."

Jeff raised an eyebrow at her words. "MJ, I'd never get mad at you as long as you're telling me the truth." He said comfortably, easing her worry a bit. "But you really should still be resting. Why are you up practicing? Didn't your dad say that he'd help you learn to control your powers?"

MJ rubbed her arm sadly. "Yeah…he did. It's just…I haven't seen him since he got back from the council. …I think he's avoiding me."

While Jeff certainly wasn't going to admit it, what she just said was probably true. Given Junior's issues with his mother and everything he's done, the fear of his child seeing him the same way he saw Mandy…that was something Junior wasn't going to be ready to face. Probably not ever.

It didn't excuse his behavior, but it did make it understandable at least.

"I don't blame him. He probably doesn't want me to see how hurt he is." MJ said sadly. "Probably doesn't want me to worry…"

Jeff's eyes slightly widened at her words. "Wait…that's why you think he's avoiding you?"

"Well...yeah."

"…Not any other reason?"

MJ shook her head. "He doesn't want me to feel bad about how badly I messed things up. I mean he basically went to war with the rest of existence because of what Kare tried to do to me." The guilt she felt dripped off her words.

"MJ, you know your dad doesn't blame you for anything that's happened." Jeff said.

"I know. That's what he said." MJ sulked. "Doesn't mean I don't."

Jeff saw a small tear running down the child's eye as she turned her eyes away from him.

"I hate it." She confessed. "I hate that everyone keeps getting hurt trying to protect me. Jacob turned into that be red demon to stop me. Dad was nearly killed. Even my mom. She thinks I didn't notice, but I saw her when she got back from the Nightosphere. She was really hurt, all because she was trying to protect me.

"…I want to get stronger." She said, curling her hand into a fist in frustration. "I want to be strong enough that they don't ever get hurt again. **I won't let anyone hurt them! No one!** " As she spoke her voice turned demonic and her eyes flashed bright green, with part of her body opening up into bright green gashes.

Though she was at the moment a frightening sight to behold, Jeff could tell it was still her in control and thus was not scared. In fact, smiled and gave a small chuckle, which did not go unnoticed by MJ.

" **What?"**

Jeff raised one of his many hands and patted her head. _"This child…"_ he thought. …The destruction and terror that her father had caused…it wasn't even a thought in her head to condemn him for any of it. She didn't believe the blame lay with him.

"Nothing." He said, still smiling. "It's just…you're so much like your father. Including that you put way more guilt on yourself than you need to."

Staring up at the spider's calming smile, MJ's glow faded and her body settled back down.

"Junior's your father, which means no matter what he'll try and protect you. But I know he'd be very proud of you wanting to protect those you love too. Just like he did when I first met him."

The spider's praise caused MJ's white face to slightly pinken as she blushed. She gave a small cough to fight away the embarrassment. "That's kind of corny, Jeff."

"Yeah…I suppose it is." Jeff said, his smile not fading. "Come on. I'll take you back to your room. If you're going to practice, you should at least have someone there to supervise."

MJ gave a nod in agreement. Jeff picked up the young girl and placed her on his back, just as he'd done with her namesake so many years ago.

As he walked on, MJ whispered "Hey, Jeff…"

"Yes, MJ?"

"Please don't tell my mom and dad about all this."

Jeff turned his head to her and made the zipping lips motion with his hand.

"Don't worry. It'll be our little secret."

Finally, MJ smiled back. "Thanks, Jeff."

* * *

In the vast black and starry space that was the Mindscape, the master of the realm Bill Cipher floated amidst the emptiness, peering through windows into the plane known as reality. Through one he could see Hunson Abadeer, still in the Ghost Zone as there were still terms and detail he needed to discuss with the Grim Reaper over his surrender. Through another few windows he could see the flag of Death's empire being raised across multiple realms. And in a final window he saw a pair of sunglasses, partially buried underneath the ashes of Hunson's destroyed realm.

"Well, that could have gone better." Bill commented to himself.

"I believe that's something of an understatement."

Bill turned quickly to voice that came from behind him. "Who-! Oh, it's just you." He said, calming down as the blond figure of Minimandy approached him from out of the void. "How'd you get here?"

"Thou art not as difficult to find as thee may like to believe. Thee simply find yourself lacking company as no one wishes to deal with thee. " Minnie stated.

"Yeah, yeah, I've heard it before, kid. It's always "Bill, you're evil." And "Bill, you should try to make friends with the 3D's." and "Bill, stop killing me!" Blah, blah, what do you want?" He asked, his annoyance over everything clearly showing though.

"I wish to know what it wast thee bethought thee would gain from all this." Minnie said. "Kare I can understand. His sickness really giving that bastard no reason not to do what he did as he would face no consequence for his actions. But you… Hunson's plan was to destroy existence. Even though this realm exists on an astral plane, tis still part of reality, would thee not also be affected by such plan?"

"You think Junior's the only one who knows how to play Hunson?" Bill asked.

"You planned on betraying him?"

"Eh, yes and no." Bill shrugged. "More along the lines of spinning Hunson's plan to my advantage. I mean a war across the realms would cause some serious damage to reality. Eventually something breaks and the line between your dimension and this one is torn open, giving me and my friends an all-access pass to infinite power! …And then I'd probably betray him."

"I doubt Hunson would be happy to hear that." Minnie commented.

"Well then you don't know Hunson as well as you think you do." Bill retorted. "He's had other business partners and friends before and he's had no trouble throwing them to the proverbial wolves. I'm sure he was expecting my sudden but inevitable betrayal and was figuring out a way to thwart me before I thwarted him. It just happens that Kare was the one to screw us over first. That's what I like about you Underworldians. You never get all that worked up over morality and crap."

"An alliance formed and held together through the values of chaos, misery, and betrayal." Minnie observed with a bit of detest in her voice. "I'd call thine group a den of vipers if I did not think it would be an insult to actual vipers."

"Again, I've heard it before." Bill said. "Now, do you actually want something or are you just here to make me wish I had ears to tear off so I could stop listening to you?"

"I merely wished to satisfy my curiosity first before this played out, so you make thank me for your extra minutes. He simply wished to get this done with." Minnie explained.

"He?" Bill asked with a raised eyebrow.

Minnie nodded and pointed behind him. Bill turned around and found his single eye staring into the two blazing red eyes of the Underworld Emperor.

"HOLY WEIRDNESS!" Bill screamed, instantly flying backwards to get away from the Reaper. After getting a comfortable few feet away, he exclaimed "Alright, first of all, don't do that! You could give a guy a heart attack if he had one! And second, how are you here?!"

"Buddha knew his stuff. That's all you really need to know." Junior stated as he walked forward to the dream demon. "We need to have a talk, Bill."

Junior took another step forward and Bill was quick to go on the defensive, spinning around and transforming to a new form, becoming a massive 3-dimensional pyramid, dark red in color with numerous limbs stretching out from the cracks in his body. **"Back off!"** Bill roared in a much lower and darker voice than before. **"You might be hot stuff in your world, Reaper, but I'm the one with the power here!"**

"I didn't come here to fight you." Junior said.

" **You mean you're going to wish you hadn't."**

"I'm serious." Junior stated calmly. "You've known enough liars to be able to tell when someone is telling the truth, so why don't you cut the crap?"

Bill squinted his eye at the Reaper. Even among those who existed on the same plane as he did, it was rare that anyone would ever talk to him the way Junior was right now. Admittedly, it had Bill intrigued.

" **What do you want?"** Bill asked.

"I want to let you know where you and I stand after all this." Junior said.

Bill looked cautiously at the Reaper for a moment, debating within what to do. Finally he spun around and reverted back to his normal yellow form. "I'm listening."

Junior took the floor. "The answers you gave Minnie's memory, I didn't feel the need to ask them myself because it's basically what I suspected. You're not as complicated as Kare or Hunson. You just want power and a big enough playground to use it in."

"And let me guess, because I was on the side of your enemies and mentally tortured your daughter, you're here to tell me that you'll make sure I never get that power, am I right?"

"Not at all."

Bill blinked for a minute. "….What?"

"I'm not going to do anything to stop you from reaching your goal." Junior repeated. "That's what I came to tell you."

Bill just stared at the Reaper for the longest time, stunned by utter confusion.

"You…you do realize what my main goal is, right?" Bill asked.

"Given that you just told her about it a minute ago, I'd say I have fairly good idea." Junior said, pointing at Minnie.

"Then you know I'm basically planning on becoming fully omnipotent, right?" Bill said, wondering what Junior's plan could possibly be. "Once I break down the walls between your world and mine, I'll no longer be bound by the limits of a 2-D plane. I'll be real. Physical. All-powerful! Multi-dimensional!"

"Living." Junior added.

It took Bill a minute but slowly his eye started to widen as Junior's threat was made clear.

With the demon stunned, Junior took his time to talk, calmly walking forward as he did so. "Like I said, Bill, I'm not going to stop you. In fact I'm sure that there are plenty of places in the Underworld that could help speed up your little plans. You could use those and that'd be a neat little way to help me keep track of your progress. It would be a fun little side-hobby for me. That's a win for both of us."

Junior stepped forward in front of Bill and stared him dead in the eye.

"So go ahead, Bill. Get your power. Get your dream come true. Get everything you've ever wanted. …And when you do, I'll be there to take it all away."

Bill couldn't move. Not out of fear or shock. But because for the first time in his existence, he had no way around the problem that faced him.

"You-! You-….!" Bill stammered, shaking in anger. **"RRRAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"** Bill screamed with fury as he exploded in a flash of red light, bright enough to make Junior and Minnie shield their eyes. And when they looked back, he was gone.

"Greater the omnipotence, the bigger the tantrum." Junior murmured. The world around the two then began to shift and they returned to the alternate dreamworld of the Nergals. Junior then turned to Minnie. "Thank you for your help."

"Thanks are not necessary. After what that creature put MJ through, I am proud to see that at least some justice is served." She replied.

Silence soon then fell between them, neither quite being sure what to say. Everything before this had gone so fast and that was likely a deliberate choice they both were responsible for. Junior had reconnected with the Nergal memory network and sought her out through it, asking her to take him to Bill and so she did. It was rapid, to the point, and done with little time for anything other than action, which was ideal, as neither was yet ready to truly talk then. Though not so much now either…

"…I suppose it won't come as a surprise to you that leading me to Bill wasn't the only reason I wanted us to meet." Junior said to her, a bit of sad hesitation in his words.

"No. I know there is much that needs to be settled between us." Minnie said.

"If I may…" Junior asked.

Minnie took a small breath. She did not want what was to happen next to come. But she knew it needed to, and thus she nodded her head.

"Minnie's gone." Junior said, the words hurting as they passed through his lips. "…It has taken me a long time to be able to accept that…and in some ways I still can't… I loved her. …I loved her so much that I'll never be able to not blame myself for what happened to her. …There are very few things that have come close to the pain of losing her…and one of them was the moment I saw you back in the Nightosphere."

Junior took a small pause to collect himself before he could continue. Minnie braced herself, as his words hurt her just as much as they did him and the worst was yet to come.

"…You're not Minnie. No matter how much I wish you were…you're not. …And if I don't draw the line right here and now…I know I will spent the rest of my life chasing after an illusion. …It won't end well for me… and it's not fair to Chi…"

"I understand." Minnie said, staying strong and fighting back her sadness.

Junior looked at her, sucking it up and saying the words he needed to.

"Unless it is absolutely unavoidable…this will be the last time we will ever meet."

"…I understand." She said again, fighting back the tears.

Junior looked at her, but not directly, as their feelings were almost mirror to each other and he knew could just as easily break if he allowed himself to. Instead, he focused solely on what needed to be said, as it was the quickest way of ending this.

"After what I've just said, I know you have no reason to do anything for me, but if I may ask one favor of you-"

"And it is a favor you need not ask." She interrupted. "Through blood relation or non, I have watched MJ grow up throughout the years. I may not be her true aunt, but I care for her greatly and will never allow harm to befall her. For as long as she will have me, I will watch over her."

Junior was quiet, no words being able to be found. In the end, he simply gave a single nod in gratitude before his form began to fade away, signaling his mind leaving the alternate dreamworld.

When his form fully vanished, Minnie was left alone in the vast space. And after another minute, she finally let her emotions flow.

"Goodbye, my love." She said softly as the tears made their way down her face.

 **Chapter end**

* * *

Author's notes: If that last section was a downer, that that means I did my job right. If not, then there's always room for me to improve.

So you guys remember that favor that Junior asked Atem for? Turns out Junior's got a soft spot for kids who have had their lives thoroughly put through the wringer (also that the Egyptian reincarnation process works the same way as the Dragon Ball universe's reincarnations).

And as someone pointed out to me, Junior does seem to be underestimating Bill, so I thought I'd clear some of it up. Yes, Bill is powerful and manipulative, but he does have limits while he exists in the mental realm. Junior made his threat to keep Bill out of the Underworld, a place where, like he said, Bill could find a fast way to become physical, but he also made Bill believe that Junior will be watching him and use the Underworld to take him down. That's why this is set before the events of Gravity Falls and why Bill is relying on the aid of humans to get his power and not something beyond humans. And to anyone who has seen the finale of the show, Junior just basically foreshadowed Bill's fate.

Next chapter is the final one. Hopefully it'll be good. Fingers crossed (in the good way).

No QTP as the next chapter is going to be the final one and there isn't much left to say.


	35. A long and fairly Grim tale

**Part 35: A long and fairly Grim tale**

 **jorie nwachukwu** **:** I did not see this post until after I'd posted the last chapter, so sorry about not getting back to you sooner. To answer your question, while I'm not planning any more chapters for this story I am thinking about may a tie-in story sometime in the future that might deal with MJ's childhood before all this, so that could happen in that.

 **Lord Razer:** I made an adjustment to the author's notes of the last chapter after I saw your post because, I agree, Bill is not someone to be underestimated and I don't want to give the impression that Junior was taking such a dangerous opponent likely. His threat was mainly to keep him out of the Underworld and in the mortal world, where he could do less damage. This can also lead to Bill's downfall, as he's looking over his shoulder for Death and is not paying enough attention to the "pathetic" humans who are so far beneath him.

 **Emeraldalex123:** What the Minnie in MJ's head is is what remains of the real Minnie. She is the love that Minnie gave to Junior when he accepted her offer of the left eye. That's why she exists. She is as real to Junior as the real Minnie was because she's as real as the love they felt for each other. That's why it hurts so much that they both know they can't be together. Not without hurting each other more.

On a lighter subject, my personal theory is that Chi is Blossom reincarnation (mainly because of the red-hair and her wiki saying she was called Dark Blossom before she was given an official name). Might explain the obsession with Mimi.

 **Rioludoodle:** Well hopefully this roller-coaster will have a decent stop, but we'll see.

 **AMTT94:** Here's my answers to your questions:

In Dragon Ball Z, the villain Buu was reincarnated into a child by the name of Uub, which is literally his name backwards, just like I thought would be funny to do with Mimi, now known as Imim (the Underworld is not very creative).

This one was my stupid mistake. I called MJ a strawberry blond early on because her hair is meant to be a red and blond mix, due to her genetics being that of Chi and Minimandy (remember Junior's Nergal flesh comes from her). It's supposed to be a pretty even mix and I didn't realize just how blonde strawberry blonde was.

Well that Minnie is not imaginary. She's more of a memory. A representation of what once was. She's not the same as an imaginary friend.

The rest might be addressed in a future tie-in story, but we'll see. Though I will say Junior has no plans to keep MJ and Jacob apart as long as they're both in control of their powers.

 **CuteVyper:** I don't disagree with what you're saying. I have a hard time mixing humor and drama in ways that don't take away from each other. I think that's a problem a lot of my Grim Tales stuff is going to suffer from, though I'll try to work on it as time goes on.

As for your question, I am thinking about doing a story sometime in the future of the PPGD heroes joining the Justice League. I'll have a bit more details on it in the author's notes below but it should be fairly epic and probably more uplifting than this story (though everyone involved is going to be put through the wringer first during the story because, well, superheroes).

 **Guest:** I am considering doing some tie-in stories with this one in the future, so that could be something I'll use in it.

 **ReadLoverNumber1:** Thank you. I'm glad you like how he's been going.

 **nightmaster000:** Thank you. Hopefully this will end on a good note.

* * *

 **Be sure to read the author's notes if you want to know about any possible future stories.**

* * *

 **Chapter start:**

Letting out a long, slow breath, Junior reopened his eyes, his vision filled by the black mountains and red sky that surrounded the balcony of his castle.

"Took you long enough." He heard from behind him. Turning his head from where he sat Junior saw Chi standing in the doorway. She bore a few scattered bandages from her fight with Hunson, but not nearly as many as one would expect to have after facing off against a demon of chaos. Though noticeably almost the entirety of the Shogunness's left arm was bandaged up.

Junior broke his legs free from the lotus position and slowly stood up. "I just used thousand year old Buddhist spiritual techniques to reconnect to a demon memory network probably created fifty years ago. I'm honestly amazed it worked at all." He said as he walked towards her. "How's your arm doing?"

Chi lifted her bandaged arm up slightly. "It still stings a little but that's normal. Now that the essence is back in the sword the pain will fade after a while."

"Suppose it could be worse, given what I've seen that stuff do to people." Junior commented.

"Don't worry, I've already gone through the worst." Chi said. "First time I tried to practice with the stuff I nearly tore my father's castle in half."

"Hm." Junior murmured tiredly, not really giving any response. This did not go unnoticed by Chi but for the moment she decided not to say anything. Instead she simply followed closely behind him as he walked slowly to the edge of the balcony. From this height one could see the vastness of the Underworld, the tall jagged mountains barely reaching to red sky above, and on the ground the flames of the tikbalang guard patrolling close to the castle. This realm, which hosted an incalculable number of supernatural wonders and horrors, some of which could be seen off in the distance flying through the clouds, it was truly something to behold.

And yet even with all this in front of her, this realm's queen could only focus on the man beside her, his arms propped against the railing to keep his weary head up as he looked outward into the same spectacle, not seeming to see any of it. Here was the most powerful man in the Underworld, the lord of a thousand realms, looking simply beaten.

It was quiet between the two for several minutes, until finally Chi decided something needed to be said.

"Care to share them?"

Junior looked over to her in slight confusion. "What?"

"Your thoughts." She clarified. "Care to share them? Or do I have to offer a penny first?" She asked jokingly, hoping it would relax him enough to open up.

Junior looked at her for a moment before turning back to the view. At first it seemed like he wasn't going to answer and Chi inwardly debated whether to drop it or ask again. But eventually…

"...When I was a kid…I never thought about having my own empire." He said, still tiredly staring out into the landscape. "Wasn't really something I cared about and, honestly, I wasn't exactly all that qualified to be ruler anyway. Minnie was always the one who had the patience and ability for that kind of thing. Me? I wasn't as powerful as dad and nowhere near as cunning as Mandy. Plus, the thought of them ever dying…I couldn't comprehend the thought of that."

Chi stayed quiet and allowed him time before he continued, though during his pause she could almost swear she heard a sniff come from his stone face, a sound she's certainly never heard from him before.

"Did you know Hunson had a wife?" Junior asked her.

"I'd assumed he at least had a baby momma, considering…" She answered.

"…Turns out my mother found her." Junior continued. "She kept her location a secret and used this to blackmail Hunson. She, apparently, wanted him to trick all her remaining enemies into gathering together, so that when she attacked, she'd take them all out at once and have no one left to stand in her way."

Though it had been years since that day, Chi thought back to her first dinner with her husband and the accusation she'd given as to what his true plan with the Underworld was. And given the way Junior was phrasing everything, it would seem he remembered that night too.

"Guess I really f'd up their deal when I killed her, didn't I?" Junior joked in a clearly fake tone.

"You can't possibly be blaming yourself for that. You had no idea this was going on." Chi pointed out.

"No. I don't blame myself for that…" Junior commented vaguely before continuing. "…I watched a grown man break down before me and confess his failings to his only child. And my most immediate thought…was can I use this to my advantage? Can I exploit this suffering family even more than I already have and keep the last of the Big Five ruler under my thumb where he's no longer a threat?"

Chi stayed quiet as Junior took in a breath. "No…I don't blame myself for ruining Hunson's chance at happiness." He stated. "I just don't like that the universe feels the need to constantly remind me that I'm my mother's son."

Junior went silent after that. He simply stood against the railing, staring out into the distance as his own thoughts condemned his very existence.

Chi stood silently by his side, not saying a word for several minutes. She watched him quietly before looking out into the same distance as he was.

"Funny enough, I actually did grow up assuming I'd get a big empire like this." She said, getting Junior to shift some of his attention out of his sorrow. "Yeah. A throne of skulls, a legion of demon ninjas, a certain red-skinned minx perched at my feet in a metal bikini…" She said this last part with a hungry smile.

"Dare I ask where I fit in this fantasy?" Junior asked dryly.

"About yonder." She pointed off in the distance. "Impaled on a giant spear with the rest of your family."

"Just a spear?"

"I added fire and screams of torment when you forced me to marry you." Chi commented with a smirk.

"Heh…" Junior let out, giving a small, legitimate chuckle at the comment. It didn't last long but Chi gave a small smile at it, relieved to see that she broke through somewhat.

Chi slowly slid her hand over his own and held it firmly.

"You and your mother have a history and issues that I am not equipped to deal with. No doubt about that. But I can tell you this: I have met this woman before. I've seen the fire in her eyes as she burned my land and watched me suffer. If your eyes ever do start to look like hers, I will stab them right out of your skull with all my hate for that woman. …But for right now, we don't seem to have to worry about that." She said, as she looked into his eyes. "They look pretty much the same as usual, just with my favorite color mixed in."

She smiled softly at him and it took a minute before Junior realized how hard he was squeezing her hand. How much he was holding onto her to keep himself together and how grateful he was that she was there.

"…I don't know what I'd do without you sometimes, Chi." He admitted with a small, sad smile.

"Go through a lot more tissues and lotion?" She teased.

"I mean it." He said honestly. "Any other woman would have given up on me years ago or be constantly bowing to my will out of fear. But with you, it's like "Oh, you're a terrible person? Well I'm a terrible person too, so let's be terrible people together."."

"Well…my bluntness is one of my best qualities." She said, doing her best not to show her blushing due to his words. "It's certainly done me better in life than your whole guilt complex shtick, so hopefully MJ takes more after my side of the family."

"Oh, man. Well, hopefully not, because if you thought I was worried about her future before…" Junior commented with a cocky smirk.

"You asshole!" Chi laughed as she playfully smacked her hand to his chest.

"You knew that when you married me." He said as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in close to him as he hugged her tightly.

Chi did not fight against his embrace, as she held him back, resting her head on his chest as they enjoyed their moment together.

"Speaking of which…" Chi said after a few seconds. "I know that only you and I know about our deal being called off, but since the Underworld is a place of loopholes and technicalities, and since I doubt either of us want our empire to be broken up…perhaps it would be best if we…reinstated some things."

Breaking away from Junior's arms, Chi reached into her robe and pulled out a small box. The same one that contained the ring that Junior had used to "propose" to her all those years ago.

Junior was choked up for a moment, though did he best to bring the cockiness back into his voice. "Why, Chi, are you asking me to marry you?" Junior asked slyly.

"Hell no." Chi stated bluntly, actually causing Junior to blink in confusion. "Sorry, Grim, but I'm an old fashioned kind of girl. If you want to get with this then you need to put the ring on it yourself."

Junior just stood there kind of dumbfounded. "…Did you just basically demand that I ask you to marry me?"

"You got a problem with that, Reaper boy?" She asked, playfully waving the box around in her hand.

" _This infuriating woman…"_ Junior thought with a smile. "God I love you!" He said as he scooped her into his embrace and kissed her. Chi returned the passionate kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck as they stood.

"Well…I suppose I can accept that in place of a proposal." Chi said when the kiss ended. "So…you in the mood to celebrate a second first honeymoon?"

Junior gave a wide naughty smile to her. "There's nothing I would rather-" He then paused as though he just remembered something and then sighed. "…Actually, Chi, I'm unfortunately going to have to take a rain check on that."

Chi gave him a blank and soon annoyed stare. "You're kidding me, right?"

Junior shook his head. "Unfortunately, though I may be the grand Poobah of all I survey, I still have an actual job that needs attending to."

"You can't put it off for say, an hour?"

"Well the last time we did that we got Black Lanterns and zombie strippers, so if you're ok with putting up with stuff like that again as I try to play catch-up-"

"Stop." Chi raised her hand to pause him. "I see you're your point."

Junior smiled at her and kissed her forehead. "It'll just be a couple hours. I'll try not to take too long."

"You'd better not." Chi said as she brushed seductively past him. "Keep a woman like me waiting too long and your new empire is going to have some _pretty interesting_ rumors going around it about its ruler."

Junior watched her leave as she exited the balcony, retiring to innards of the castle. When she was gone, Junior made his way inside as well.

* * *

Junior shut the door to his office. If there was one thing he did not like about the castle, it was its long hallways. Not because necessarily of the time it to get from place to place within it, but because the time gave room to think uninterrupted, and thus why the peaceful mood the Reaper's wife had put him in had all but disappeared. His mind was focused too much on what he was doing. What he always did in this damn office.

As Junior made his way to his desk he couldn't help but curse the number of secrets he had left and the problems he was still unprepared to deal with. That was something he loved about his time with Chi. No matter what misery lay before them, she always made him feel like the only problem in the world was figuring ways to one-up her. It helped him avoid. It helped him to not think about them.

There was still the issue with MJ's awakened powers. He had every intention of keeping his word to her and training her how to control them once he'd recovered enough. Problem is that due to being half of whatever the hell Chi and her father's species is, MJ's biology and abilities were slightly different from his own and it was hard to say how well he'd be able to teach her because of that difference. It was the same problem that Minnie and Nergal had faced with him, due to him being half-Reaper. Not to mention how bad things could get if she lost control again or if someone tried to gain control of her Demon Reaper as HIM had tried to do to him years ago.

There was the issue regarding Jacob. Only time would tell if letting him keep the Devil's Essence was a move of wisdom or one that'd doom them both.

There was the issue of where Hunson's wife was. Junior admittedly wasn't sure what he wanted to come from that whole situation.

And then there was the scythe.

Junior set the scythe against the wall, eyeing the blade as he did so. Specifically the cracks in it.

They were small and far too faint for anyone to spot them unless they got in close and given that the scythe rarely ever left the Reaper's sight that was not likely to happen.

While the scythe was an ancient tool, older than even his father, most of the damage to it had come from the last fifty years or so. Changing hands from person to person, being used as a gardening tool, being used for chores, being shoved up noses, and, most recently, being caught in the blast of a soul destroying bomb.

His father told him it's been broken before, but only partially. Just enough so that it needed a repair session. But this…Junior could tell. The cracks were going to spread. One of these days the scythe was going to break. Completely. The supernatural energies contained within such an ancient weapon was going to be a loss Junior was never going to quite make up for. Not to mention its destruction would mean the release of his mother's soul. That was going to be fun to deal with.

And the worst part…all of these still paled in comparison to what lay hidden beneath his desk.

Pushing the desk out of the way, Junior hit a small button on the underside of the workspace and from under the floor slowly emerged a small safe.

The safe was composed of the strongest materials known to existence, including Underworldium. It was a stupid as hell name but it did the job. No supernatural energy was ever going to break this safe. Not even the scythe or himself as that powerful.

After entering in the combination, the door unlocked and the safe opened. Within this small box was the most important item Junior had in his possession, far more meaningful to him than anything his mother had kept within her vault.

Within the safe was a single hourglass with the name Chi engraved upon it.

And the sands within the glass almost out.

Taking the hourglass out and setting it on his desk, Junior carefully unscrewed the top and from his fingers dropped more sand into it, refilling the item.

Just as he had done every day since his daughter was born.

Screwing the top back on and setting it back in the safe, Junior then took a seat in his chair, sighing as he did so.

Years ago his wife had asked him when her time was going to come. He didn't tell her, mainly because he himself never imagined that she would ever be killed. She was one of the strongest Underworld lords next to him and Hunson and with a natural lifespan of eons, it simply wasn't something to worry about. Even when a billion years did pass and her time would come, he always figured that if her sands ever did run out they'd simply ignore it and they'd be fine, just as his father did when Mandy was supposed to go.

But he was not his father. His father died before ever teaching him all there was to know about being Death. Which meant he never told him how he kept his mother alive.

Everyone is tied to their hourglass. Every other person, when the sands in their glass ran out, they dropped dead. That was how it worked. Mandy was the one exception and that was because Grim acted on her behalf. Instead of dying, she became immortal, living so long as death didn't change his mind and kill her himself. Somehow, someway, he made it happen.

This was a secret Grim took to his grave.

On the day MJ was born, the day the Underworld was introduced to the Black Demon Reaper, Chi died.

And Junior couldn't accept that.

With his great power and lack of knowledge, he tried desperately to bring her back. And he succeeded, but at a price.

Every day since the day he brought her back he refilled her hourglass. Her life was now more heavily connected to it than ever before and if Junior failed even once in this duty, she would die.

Where does a being of the Underworld go when they die? That was a question even his father didn't know.

Out of all his secrets, this was the one Junior was never going to let anyone ever find out about.

He had to. How could he tell his wife that she was living on borrowed time? How could he make his daughter live with the fact that she killed her own mother?

These were his justifications for his actions. But in truth, like with many things, he simply was not ready to deal with it. That, in truth, he was simply being selfish.

How could he accept that the one person he had left was going to leave him? How could he accept that the family he'd built will eventually fall apart?

But eventually he would have to. He knew this all too well as he sat staring at it.

It was an hourglass. It was an almost literal ticking clock.

One of these days, it will have to run out.

It was just a matter of time.

" _I am so tired…"_ Junior thought to himself as he sat in the dark quiet space of his office.

 **Chapter end**

* * *

Author's notes: And that was Grim Tales: Empire of Death. Kind of a grim note to end on and hopefully I did that well. I hope everyone enjoyed it and I hope the ending satisfying enough to end on. Before anyone asks, I am likely to do some form of tie-in story to this in the future, likely one that will center around MJ's childhood before meeting HIM or what'll happen when Chi's time finally comes or even possibly MJ taking the throne from Junior and dealing with what he's left behind. Whichever I choose (I very well could end up doing them all) and whenever I write it (I'm going to take a break from THIS particular Grim Tales storyline for a while), I imagine it'll be significantly shorter than this whole story.

Now you might be saying: didn't Junior tell MJ that she didn't kill her mother when she was born? Yes he did. He lied to her. How do you tell your ten year old daughter after she's been through so much trauma already that she killed her own mother? Heck, Junior is a full grown man who deliberately killed his own mother and even he has trouble dealing with it sometimes. Just like Hunson with Marceline, no parent ever wants to hurt their child, especially not when they feel like they're the ones who failed.

Again, I do hope the story was pretty good and that you all enjoyed it, so do please leave post your thoughts, comments, criticisms, and suggestion. I always enjoy reading them and I will try to get back to anyone who needs me to.

But also, I wanted to get all your guys' opinions on what I should do next. I am planning on doing more Grim Tales stories in the future, along with possibly some other stories outside of Grim Tales.

Here are some ideas of what I'm planning in the future. I'm not going to do all of these in the immediate future but I would like to know what people think of me doing them.

* * *

Grim Tales: Complex: This is a story I can almost guarantee I'm going to do sometime soon in the future, as I already have the first chapter written and the story mostly planned out. I don't want to give too much away right now, but I will say it is inspired by the Grim Tales Afterbirth story and thus will have the entire Grim family, including Manny and Daniela Phantom. Though everyone will be a little older in this story than in Afterbirth, with the twins being in their teens and Junior pushing thirty. Junior, who will be a bounty hunter, will still be the main focus though. Also if the story goes as planned it will likely be a bit longer than Empire of Death, but we'll see. Also probably rated M for a few different reasons (it's not going to be a porn).

* * *

Another Grim Tales lemon: this will be porn. Likely one involving Junior, Minnie, and possible Mimi, all in their teens because I am NOT going to write porn about ten year olds. No. Just…no.

* * *

Powerpuff Girls D/Justice League crossover: Basically this will be some of the heroes from the PPGD story joining the Justice League and facing a BIG villain that threatens them all. I'm planning on the fic being a combination of the PPGD, Grim Tales, and Justice League Unlimited continuities. This one is not going to be for a while, so in the meantime I would like some suggestions on two things:

Who are some cartoon heroes who should join the League? I'm already planning on the three Powerpuffs, Dexter, and Danny Phantom and I would appreciate some suggestions. My only condition is that they be from a cartoon show. No characters from or in connection to Marvel or DC comics.

Who are some cartoon villains who should be part of the new Legion of Doom, the villains the heroes will fight? The only ones I'm mostly certain on are Vlad Plasmius, Invader Zim, and maybe Chase Young and Shego. Again, my only condition is that they be a villain from a cartoon show. Also I don't want to use HIM because I'm already going to be using him in most of the Grim Tales stuff.

* * *

Spider-Man vs. Mephisto: Because fuck One More Day, that's why. Basically this will be Spider-Man fighting against the forces of Hell to reclaim his marriage to Mary Jane.

* * *

Kung Fu Panda/Legend of Korra crossover: I like all the Kung Fu Panda movies (2 is my favorite) and I like the majority of Legend of Korra (season 3 is my favorite), so this might be kind of a fun idea I'm toying with. Plus I think there's a lot of potential in a character like Kai (from KFP 3).

* * *

Grim Tales Noir: Basically the Grim Tales characters reimagined in a 1930's mob noir.

* * *

Grim Tales Fairy Tales: Basically the Grim Tales characters mucking up a bunch of classic fairy tale stories, such as Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood, and more. This is probably going to be more of a comedy, which means I could very easy mess it up, so this will take some time.

* * *

Grim Tales oneshots collection: This, along with Grim Tales: Complex, is something I am almost guaranteed to be working on sometime soon in the future. Basically it'll be a collection of one chapter stories and oneshots around Grim Tales, with any story being able to be told in any given chapter, kind of like what Akumakami64 has in his fanfictions. I'll likely make it rated M, but that's only so there will be less restrictions on what stories can be in the collection, so any story K through M in rating can be put within.

I have a few ideas for this already, such as Junior and Minnie meeting Superman, Mandy's motherly relationship with Junior, Grim's fatherly relationship with Minnie, and one about Minnie arriving too late to Oogie's lair to save Junior.

But the point of this oneshot collection is to hear what the fans want to read about, so if you have any suggestions for some stories feel free to tell me about them. Some will likely be made into oneshots. Others could be made or at least incorporated into bigger stories. Not all will be, of course, as I only have so much time and so much imagination, plus there are shows like Sonic, Randy Cunningham, or Steven Universe which I haven't seen yet and thus could not use things from those shows in my writings. But having your idea out there still makes it much more likely to happen, so please don't hesitate to give suggestions.

* * *

Well I think I've gone on long enough, so I'll just say thank you all again for being so supportive of this story and I hope you enjoyed it at what's to come in the future. I'll probably start posting stories again sometime in May or June, when things in my life are a little less hectic.

Until then, thanks for reading.


End file.
